A Long Island contractor was sentenced on Monday to one to three years in prison for stealing nearly $500,000 in prize money awarded to his friend, the jazz pianist Cecil Taylor.

The contractor, Noel Muir, 55, of Uniondale, N.Y., pleaded guilty to larceny last month for having stolen the money awarded to Mr. Taylor by the Inamori Foundation of Japan in June 2013 as part of his Kyoto Prize. The prizes recognize cultural, scientific and spiritual achievements.

Image Mr. Taylor spoke outside of a Brooklyn courtroom in February. Credit... Bryan R. Smith for The New York Times

Mr. Muir, who befriended Mr. Taylor while working on his brownstone in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, accompanied the jazz musician to Japan in November 2013 and then arranged to have the prize money — $492,722.55 — deposited into his own Citibank account. Documents that Mr. Muir sent to the foundation falsely stated that the name on that account was the Cecil Taylor Foundation.