Noel Muir should be ashamed of himself. The 54-year-old general contractor from Uniondale, New York recently swindled the legendary jazz pianist Cecil Taylor out of nearly $500,000 in prize money, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday.
Japan’s Inamori Foundation awarded Taylor the Kyoto Prize last year and invited him to Japan to collect the prize and attend an award ceremony. The Kyoto Prize honors “those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural, and spiritual betterment of mankind.”
Working on an apartment next door to Taylor’s Brooklyn home, Muir befriended the pianist. By the time of the award ceremony, the two were close enough that Taylor had Muir assist him with travel preparations and accompany him to Japan. Taylor even went as far as allowing Muir to arrange the wiring of the prize money.
Here came the betrayal. Muir had bankers send the $492,722.55 to his own account, claiming it to be the account for The Cecil Taylor Foundation. This was on November 20. By the time investigators got on the case, the account was empty. Muir could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Oh me oh my.
Here you can watch Taylor’s rather mesmerizing statement as Kyoto Prize Laureate. And below you can watch the free jazz frontiersman bang out sublime sound with his fingertips circa 1981.
• Cecil Taylor: http://www.discogs.com/artist/195812-Cecil-Taylor
• Kyoto Prize: http://www.kyotoprize.org/en