Raised by his grandparents in West London, Taylor took to the piano early and joined the Covent Garden jazz scene in his youth. Joining various ensembles through the early 1960s and turning towards free jazz, he would record the landmark quartet album “Pendulum” (1966) and the follow-up “Trio” (1967) at Lansdowne Studios in West London. Both were split between adventurous free-form interpretations of standards and Taylor’s own compositions. Three of his tunes were recorded by the progressive rock band Cream, but many remain unrecorded or lost. Taylor’s mental state became increasingly unstable, riddled by years of drug abuse and homelessness. In January 1969, his dead body was found on the banks of the River Thames. He was only 30 years old.