RIP: Dr. Billy Taylor, 1921-2010

Jazz pianist, composer and educator Billy Taylor – who earned a doctorate in music education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1975 – died Tuesday of heart failure in Manhattan. He was 89 years old.

At the time of his death, Taylor was scheduled to perform with his jazz trio at the College of Saint Rose’s Massry Center for the Arts on Friday, April 29, 2011.

Here’s Peter Keepnews’ obituary for Billy Taylor at The New York Times.