Jazz pioneer Cecil Taylor allegedly swindled of $500,000 Kyoto prize

Cecil Taylor had a prize sum of nearly half a million dollars stolen from him by a general contractor who befriended the pioneering jazz pianist while working next to his house in New York City, according to a criminal court in Brooklyn.

Noel Muir, from New York’s Long Island, could face up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted. He is currently waiting arraignment on a charge of grand larceny in Brooklyn’s criminal court.

Taylor, one of the key figures in the free-jazz revolution, was invited to collect the prestigious Kyoto prize by Japan’s Inamori Foundation in November 2013. According to a statement by the district attorney in Brooklyn, Muir, a contractor who had worked for Taylor’s neighbour, joined him for the event and helped the musician prepare for the trip.

While in Japan, Taylor, 85, is said to have provided the Inamori Foundation with details of his bank account in order for the Kyoto prize money to be wired directly. Muir claims the name on the account was The Cecil Taylor Foundation, and that a wire for $492,722.55 (£293, 227.02) arrived two weeks after the ceremony.

However, the prosecutor’s statement said the account was under the name MCAI Construction, Muir’s own company. The account has since been depleted. Muir allegedly took out part of Taylor’s money in cash, and spent the rest on his construction business, the law enforcement official said.

“The defendant befriended Mr Taylor and won his trust, which later made it easier for him to allegedly swindle this vulnerable, elderly and great jazz musician,” said district attorney Kenneth Thompson.

Muir turned himself in on Tuesday. His lawyer has declined to comment further.

According to Associated Press, Taylor did not want to talk about the case during his time in court, instead musing on the “quality of trees on the train ride between Tokyo and Kyoto, the Kabuki dancers he had once seen in a Balanchine ballet, and the conductor Pierre Boulez”.

The annual Kyoto prize is an international award to honour individuals who have contributed significantly to “the scientific, cultural, and spiritual betterment of mankind”.