Billboard : 01/12/1957
Score of 80

This LP might be subtitled “Study in piano styles.” Taylor has outdone himself to find a distinctive way of presenting each selection in the set; as a result, a many-faceted program is offered here. London House, is a delightful up-beat swinger, with long, intricate melodic lines set to a crisp, secure beat. It Might as Well Be Spring is a delicate impressionistic pastel. He offers a lusher, full-piano sound in Gone With The Wind and I Cover the Waterfront. Then again, Midnight Piano is what is what could be called a “cool blues.” This tasteful and imaginatively conceived album is one of Taylor’s best – and will be a “must” for his fans.

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Cashbox : 12/22/1956

A Chicago nitery, The London House, was the scene of this recording session by The Billy Taylor Trio. After a romping Taylor showpiece (At London House) gets the waxing underway, the group, constantly sparked by the Taylor keyboard, settles down to some subtle essays on 5 standards and the second Taylor original Midnight Piano. Equipment used caught the performances beautifully. Striking cover job. Neat, refreshing jazz keyboard ideas from Taylor, a true master of the jazz piano.

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Army Times
Tom Scanlan : 12/29/1956

Billy Taylor, one of the most exciting pianists in jazz today, has a new record on the market which should please just about anyone but the squarest of squares.

The music was taped on location at Chicago’s London House and it’s a well-rounded set. Opener is a swinging up-tempo blues called The London House and final selection is a fine, thoughtful Stella by Starlight. Several standards are also included, among them Gone With the Wind played with left hand only, quite a stunt.

Taylor gets fine support from drummer Percy Brice on brushes and bassman Earl May. A very enjoyable record.

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Saturday Review
Whitney Balliett : 01/12/1957

A sufficient, if not particularly stimulating, display of Taylor‘s refined and highly sensitive style that was recorded one evening last July at the London House in Chicago. An eight-minute blues, Midnight Piano, is perhaps the most arresting number on the record. Four standards and one other original.

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Down Beat : 01/23/1957
Ralph J. Gleason : 4 stars

There are times when Billy Taylor seems to me to stand in the same position to the pianists of today as Teddy Wilson has stood to those of his generation – the perfection of taste.

Taylor’s impeccable, reflective style, with the hornlike extended phrases weaving up and down within the rightly stretched limits of the harmony, never has been better exemplified than in his two ABC LPs. This one, which was recorded in the London House in Chicago and hence has a few plates and pieces of silver clattering in the background and an occasionally audible customer, may not have quite the same degree of perfection that the first one had, but the same relative level is reached.

On Spring, for instance, the exquisite tenderness with which Taylor plays a ballad is perfectly illustrated. The ballad, perhaps, is where Taylor’s talent shines to best advantage. Midnight Piano, one of the two only originals on the LP, seems to be less a composition than a collection of blues ideas. With the exception of that track, this is a remarkably fine piano album which should find a permanent place in many collections.

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Liner Notes by Dan Sorkin

It is extremely difficult to capture, in a recording studio, the spirit which the Billy Taylor Trio communicates when they are making a personal appearance. There three talented musicians obviously enjoy playing together, and the many varied moods they create are influenced and often enhanced by receptive audiences. With this in mind, ABC-Paramount moved their microphones and equipment into Chicago’s London House and, under the direction of Bill Putnam, taped several of the trio’s sets.

There are far too few night clubs and restaurants which present the music of groups like the Billy Taylor Trio under conditions which are as ideal as those of the London House. The well-tuned Steinway, the roomy bandstand, the excellent sound system and the unique arrangement of spotlights make this a great room for performer and listener alike. Even the staff does it part to help create a convivial atmosphere. It is not only a pleasure but a rarity to see waiters and waitresses, who hear the music every night, join the applause after a particularly enthusiastic rendition of a Billy Taylor specialty.

Billy Taylor has, of course, made many different types of albums but we think that this “in person” presentation of the way the trio sounded in July 1956 comes closer to what Billy Taylor fans are accustomed to hearing when they hear the group in a night club than anything else he has on record.

“Billy Taylor at the London House” has always meant standing room only and the applause following each number is ample evidence of the unique rapport Billy achieves, not only with the trio, but with his listeners as well.

Side One
The London House is an original, written by Billy Taylor and his former drummer, Charlie Smith. This is the only really up-tempo side in the album, a perfect example of the “Taylor Musical Mind” bubbling and cooking with typical enthusiasm. Earl May plays one of his most exciting walking bass solos and Billy and drummer Percy Brice share honors on 4-bar breaks on the way out.

It Might As Well Be Spring and Love Is Here To Stay demonstrate an impressionistic approach to ballads via various harmonic nuances and a very delicate touch.

Gone With The Wind, a tour de force which may easily escape notice by the casual listener, exhibits Billy Taylor’s amazing virtuosity. It is difficult to discern from the lush, full piano sound that he is playing with just his left hand. Billy has several exclusive left hand arrangements in his repertoire, of which this is the first recorded.

Side Two
Midnight Piano is a traditional blues written by Billy. Over 8 minutes long, it turns the gamut from single-note blues style through two-hand chords and back again. This is a relaxed bass solo by Earl May. This is a cool blues as opposed to the up-tempo blues sound of The London House.

I Cover The Waterfront is one of Billy’s most moving, melancholy impressions on record.

Stella By Starlight moves from an out-of-tempo ad lib chorus into a bright and colorful picture of a happy chick. Watch Billy’s 4-bar chases at the end of the piece, in which he uses his hands separately, like two different instruments complementing each other.

I think this album captures the fun and the intimacy of the Billy Taylor sessions at the London House. I think you will also feel that the music is being played for you personally.