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Guildhall Big Band with Special Guest John Taylor: Pure and Simple
by John Kelman
It would be easy to call Pure and Simple a John Taylor project, since all the charts are his and he's a featured soloist on every track. But, as was the case with the Australian Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra's The Mothership Plays the Music of Mike Nock (Jazzgroove, 2006), that would be a mistake. As part of CAM Jazz's CAM Jazz Presents series, aimed at creating exposure for some of today's younger jazz talents, it's important to delineate this as an ...
Continue ReadingJohn Taylor: Angel of the Presence
by John Kelman
British pianist John Taylor has been an active player since the late 1960s with a range of partners including trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, reedman John Surman and drummer Peter Erskine. But, excluding his Azimuth trio with Wheeler and singer Norma Winstone, he has put out few releases as a leader until the beginning of this decade. Still, his manifest presence pervades every recording he's played on. In some cases, like his 1990s work with Erskine and bassist Palle Danielsson, so much ...
Continue ReadingJohn Taylor: Angel of the Presence
by AAJ Staff
English pianist John Taylor, who's now in his mid-60s, has worked with a variety of partners on the ECM label. For a while there, he seemed to have nestled comfortably into a particular vibe, generally sounding quiet and lyrical, soft and elastic, not ever really crossing the line. He was quite reliable for that sort of thing, actually. But listening to this new trio release, recorded in late 2004, it's pretty clear that the pigeon has popped out of its ...
Continue ReadingJohn Taylor: Angel of the Presence
by Martin Gladu
The title sums this record up perfectly. Presence can be defined as the feeling of being close to someone or something, sometimes of a supernatural order; and angels, symbols of spiritual elevation and purity, are ethereal heavenly beings. English pianist/composer John Taylor has succeeded in crystallizing the two not only in a poetic title, but also the music on this release. Maybe the aptly titled album is a quiet homage to the late pianist's spouse, whose computer-generated artistic work garnishes ...
Continue ReadingJohn Taylor Trio: Rosslyn
by Mark Corroto
At age 61, pianist John Taylor has finally made his major label debut as a leader. But then again, Rosslyn doesn't really have a chieftain. Taylor, who has been a sideman since the 1970s, seems not to mind sharing his rostrum with his two bandmates: bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron.The British-born Taylor gained early recognition with John Surman, before becoming the house pianist at Ronnie Scott's club. Critical acclaim came with the group Azimuth (with Kenny ...
Continue ReadingKenny Wheeler: All the More
by Robert Spencer
Kenny Wheeler's gorgeous trumpet anchors these tracks, but also attracting attention here is the understated beauty and subtle adventurousness of John Taylor's piano. With that kind of combination in his playing, Taylor is a perfect match for Wheeler, who has straddled a few divides in his time. Much of this disc features the ethereal ECM-ish music Wheeler has made his trademark, but some of it harks back to Wheeler's earlier days as a pillar of the English “free music" scene ...
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