Late jazz musician frequented area high school

Woodbridge, Va. –– The legendary Dr. Billy Taylor died Wednesday at age 89.

The Washington native, renowned pianist and jazz educator often gave performances at C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge as part of “Billy Taylor’s Jazz at the Kennedy Center Program.”

The educational show was televised nationally by the Prince William Network, a media services division of the county public school system.

“He was our favorite artist and was always a gentleman who was never demanding. But when working with him you knew you were working with a giant of the jazz world and you made sure everything was perfect for his performances,” said Prince William Network Director Ben Swecker.

Taylor lived outside New York City and died of apparent heart failure, according to his website.

During his performances at Hylton, Taylor would take questions from students in the audience as well as phone calls from students nationwide.

Always a student himself, Taylor graduated from Virginia State College in 1942 and then moved to New York City, where Bebop would soon become a dominating force in music, according to Capitalbop.

During his time in New York, he learned from and played with the likes of Art Tatum, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and many others.

His time in television began in 1958, and when he later partnered with the Kennedy Center, he became the center’s artistic director of jazz.

He tired from public performances in 2005, but continued to educate others in his art form.

“I remember I went to one piano Christmas concert at Kennedy Center. He was not scheduled to perform, but after all the musicians had finished, he came out and played the final song and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” said Swecker.