Martin Taylor,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 20 October 1956) is a British

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

guitarist who has performed in groups, guitar ensembles, and as an accompanist.

Biography

Early life

Taylor was born in

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, into a family with a musical heritage and a Gypsy tradition. At the age of four, he received his first guitar from his father, jazz bassist William 'Buck' Taylor who only took up music at 30. Buck frequently played the music of the

Quintette du Hot Club de France The Quintette du Hot Club de France ("The Quintet of the Hot Club of France"), often abbreviated "QdHCdF" or "QHCF", was a jazz group founded in France in 1934 by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli and active in one form ...

, so the young Martin Taylor became inspired by guitarist

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

. At age eight, he was already playing in his father's band and at 15 he quit school to become a professional musician. The band Martin joined at 15 called the ''Oo-yah Band'' was led by

Lennie Hastings Leonard "Lennie" Hastings (5 January 1927 – 14 July 1978) was an English jazz drummer. Biography Hastings started out playing in military bands during World War II in the 1940s, which included Micky Bryan's Rug Cutters in 1942. He then playe ...

, a jazz drummer who spent many years with the Alex Welsh band. The band included Nick Stevenson (trumpet), Peter Skivington (bass guitar), Ron Brown (trombone), Jamie Evans (piano), Malcolm Everson (clarinet and baritone saxophone). Over the next few years Taylor played in numerous bands, at holiday camps, on radio, and on cruise ships. One cruise gig led to his playing with the

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

orchestra. Performing dates in and around London brought him into contact with jazz guitarist Ike Isaacs, who became a mentor. Isaacs not only performed with Taylor as a duet, but also helped Taylor develop his sense of jazz harmony and fingerstyle technique.

The Grappelli years

Through Isaacs, Taylor was introduced to

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the firs ...

, former violinist of the Quintette du Hot Club de France, in which he played with Django Reinhardt. When one of Grappelli's band members was injured, Taylor was invited to play a few European dates. When Grappelli invited him to join full-time, Taylor accepted and performed and recorded with him for the next eleven years, occupying the position once held by his idol, Django Reinhardt. His success with Grappelli allowed Taylor more freedom. He reduced some of his commitments and moved to Scotland. Another benefit of his association with Grappelli was that he began to tour North America regularly, helping him reach a larger audience and build new relationships. He met

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

and

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

and recorded with them in later years. Another contact financed the production of the album ''Sarabanda''. In the 1980s, Grappelli suffered a heart attack. Although he made a full recovery, it was some time before he could tour again. Taylor found it difficult to find other work and fell into a period of financial hardship, selling his guitars to survive. He became disenchanted with music and did not touch a guitar for almost a year. He agreed on a price for his one remaining guitar, a gift from mentor Isaacs. On the way to close the deal, he pulled his car over to play the guitar one last time, and found his passion for playing re-ignited. He called off the deal. This was a catalyst for the next stage of his career.

Going solo

To avoid relying on other musicians for income, Taylor started to perform as a solo act. His style and engaging stage personality paid off, and the gigs proved successful. After a few years, he stopped touring with Grappelli. A recording contract with Scottish label

Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...

, helped make it possible for him to concentrate on his solo career. Linn was primarily a manufacturer of high-end audio equipment, and found that Taylor's intimate and intricate style and tone ably demonstrated the quality of their equipment. These Linn recordings include solo work (''Artistry and Portraits'', which featured Chet Atkins) and some recordings with a modern jazz quartet (''Don't Fret''). The relative success of these albums and his concert dates raised Taylor's profile in the guitar community. In 1991, Taylor performed in Australia, giving a solo performance on the ''

Hey Hey It's Saturday ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...

'' show. Guitarist

Tommy Emmanuel William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, he is known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and use of percussive effects on ...

saw him on the show and contacted him, and the two became close friends and frequent collaborators. Taylor has stated that although their backgrounds were different, they shared many similarities and found that they had been living parallel lives on opposite sides of the world.

Spirit of Django and other associations

Martin Taylor and Coleridge Goode at launch of the Stephane Grappelli DVD, London, 2002

During the 1990s, Taylor started the band Spirit of Django, which was inspired by Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club. He recorded and toured successfully with this band while continuing his solo commitments. At the end of the decade he signed with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

, releasing two albums, ''Kiss and Tell'' and ''Nitelife''. After leaving Sony, he signed with P3 Music, which released ''Solo'' and ''The Valley'' with guest appearances by

Bryn Terfel Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', ''Leporello'' and ''D ...

and

Sacha Distel Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French singer, guitarist, songwriter and actor who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, " Scoubidou" ...

. At a celebration for the film ''Stéphane Grappelli: A Life in the Jazz Century'', Taylor performed with associates of Grappelli, including

John Etheridge John Michael Glyn Etheridge (born 12 January 1948) is an English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator known for his eclecticism and broad range of associations in jazz, classical, and contemporary music. He is best known f ...

Jack Emblow Jack Alexander Emblow (born 27 June 1930) is a British jazz accordionist who is best known for his musical work accompanying the Cliff Adams Singers on BBC Radio. Biography Emblow was born on 27 June 1930 in Lincoln, England. His father sang a ...

, and

Coleridge Goode George Coleridge Emerson Goode (29 November 1914 – 2 October 2015) was a British Jamaican-born jazz bassist best known for his long collaboration with alto saxophonist Joe Harriott. Goode was a member of Harriott's innovatory jazz quintet thro ...

. Since 2010, Taylor has been teaching guitar on his online school.

Influences

His earliest influence was

gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a style of small-group jazz originating from the Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–53), in conjunction with the French swing violinist Stéphane Gr ...

guitarist Django Reinhardt from the Hot Club of France. Other influences include mentor Ike Isaacs,

Ted Greene TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

, and

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...

. Although Taylor is inspired by many guitarists, musically he relates more to pianists, particularly

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

. Taylor's set lists include songs from the

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is ...

and his own compositions. His arrangements and compositions are often influenced by composers like

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...

and

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

and therefore include moving lines to fill in the spaces, e.g. walking basslines, syncopated chordal 'stabs' (to emulate horn sections), and complex jazz harmony. He considers melody the most important part of an arrangement.

Equipment

Martin Taylor often uses guitars built by Scottish-based luthier Mike Vanden. They produced the Martin Taylor Artistry archtop with another, nylon-stringed, archtop used for ''Spirit of Django''. Throughout the 1990s he played a Yamaha AEX1500, which he helped develop. In 2012, Peerless guitars announced the release of two guitars endorsed by Martin. In 2018, in collaboration with UK based premium hand-crafted guitar specialist, Fibonacci Guitars (https://www.fibonacciguitars.com), the Martin Taylor branded "Joya" guitar was launched (https://martintaylorguitars.com/joya-op2/) followed in 2022 by the slightly smaller and thinner "Lola" model (https://www.fibonacciguitars.com/martin-taylor-lola)

Awards and honors

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, awarded by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

(2002)

Discography

As leader

* ''Taylor Made'' (Wave, 1979) * ''Skye Boat'' (Concord Jazz, 1982) * ''Sarabanda'' (Gaia, 1989) * ''Don't Fret!'' (Linn, 1990) * ''Change of Heart'' (Linn, 1991) * ''Gordon Giltrap & Martin Taylor'' (Prestige, 1991) * ''Artistry'' (Linn, 1992) * ''Spirit of Django'' (Linn, 1994) * '' Tone Poems 2'' with

(Acoustic Disc, 1995) * ''Portraits'' (Linn, 1996) * ''Two's Company'' (Linn, 1997) * ''Triple Libra'' with

Peter Ind Peter Ind (20 July 1928 – 20 August 2021) was a British jazz double bassist and record producer. Early life Ind was born in Middlesex. His father was a builder. Ind began to learn the violin at the age of eight and played in his school orches ...

(Wave, 1998) * ''Gypsy'' (Linn, 1998) * ''Kiss and Tell'' (Columbia, 1999) * ''

I'm Beginning to See the Light "I'm Beginning to See the Light" is a popular song and jazz standard, with music written by Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James and lyrics by Don George and published in 1944. 1945 recordings *Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots feat ...

'' with David Grisman (Acoustic Disc, 1999) * ''Martin Taylor in Concert'' (Milestone/Fantasy, 2000) * ''Sketches: A Tribute to Art Tatum'' (P3 Music, 2001) * ''Nitelife'' (Columbia, 2001) * ''Solo'' (P3 Music, 2002) * ''Gypsy Journey'' (P3 Music, 2003) * ''The Valley'' (P3 Music, 2004) * ''Martins4'' (P3 Music, 2005) * ''Freternity'' (P3 Music, 2007) * ''Double Standards'' (P3 Music, 2008) * ''Last Train to Hauteville'' (P3 Music, 2010) * ''Two for the Road'' with Alan Barnes (Woodville, 2011) * ''Live at Wigmore Hall'' with David Grisman (Acoustic Disc, 2011) * ''First Time Together!'' with David Grisman,

Frank Vignola Frank Vignola (born December 30, 1965) is an American jazz guitarist. He has played in the genres of swing, fusion, gypsy jazz, classical, and pop. Career Vignola grew up on Long Island, New York. His father played accordion and banjo and ...

(Acoustic Disc, 2012) * ''One Day'' (P3 Music, 2015)

As sideman

With

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and ...

* ''On Tour UK: Buddy DeFranco Quartet Featuring Martin Taylor'' (Hep, 1984) * ''Groovin'' (Hep, 1985) * ''Garden of Dreams'' (ProJazz, 1988) With

Stephane Grappelli Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane, a French given name * Stephane (Ancient Greece), a vestment in ancient Greece * Stephane (Paphlagonia) Stephane ( grc, Στεφάνη) was a small port town on the coast of ancient Paphlagonia, according to Arr ...

* ''Vintage 1981'' (Concord Jazz, 1981) * ''At the Winery'' (Concord Jazz, 1981) * ''We've Got the World On a String'' (Angel, 1982) * ''Just One of Those Things'' (EMI, 1984) * ''Bringing It Together'' (Cymekob, 1984) * ''Live in San Francisco'' (Storyville, 1986) * ''Together at Last'' (Flying Fish, 1987) * ''Olympia 1988'' (Atlantic, 1988) * ''Stephane Grappelli Plays Jerome Kern'' (GRP, 1987) * ''Milou en Mai'' (CBS, 1990) * ''Reunion'' (Linn, 1993) * ''Celebrating Grappelli'' (Honest, 1997) * ''Live at the Cambridge Folk Festival'' (True North/Fuel 2000, 1999) With

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song " Adiemus" and the ''Adiemus'' album series; '' Palladio''; ''The Armed Man''; and his ''Requiem''. J ...

* ''Adiemus IV The Eternal Knot'' (Venture/Virgin, 2000) * ''Live'' (Venture, 2001) * ''Vocalise'' (OmTown/Virgin, 2003) With

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

* ''Strictly for the Birds'' (Angel, 1980) * ''Top Hat'' (His Master's Voice, 1984) * ''For All Seasons'' (EMI, 1985) * ''Menuhin & Grappelli Play Jealousy & Other Great Standards'' (EMI, 1988) With

Bill Wyman William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...

* ''Anyway the Wind Blows'' (BMG/RCA, 1998) * ''Struttin' Our Stuff'' (BMG/RCA, 1997) * ''Groovin'' (Roadrunner/Papillon/Ripple, 2000) * ''Live in Europe'' (Ripple, 2000) * ''Double Bill'' (Disky, 2001) * ''Travlin' Band'' (Ripple, 2002) * ''On the Road Again'' (Ripple, 2003) * ''Just for a Thrill'' (Ripple, 2004) * ''The Kings of Rhythm Vol. 1: Jump, Jive and Wail'' (Edsel, 2016) With others *

"The Colonel and the Governor" (BMG 2013) *

Denys Baptiste Denys Baptiste (born 1969) is an English jazz musician from London, England, where he was born to St Lucian parents. A graduate of Tomorrow's Warriors, Baptiste plays tenor and soprano saxophone in addition to composing. Baptiste played with ...

, ''Alternating Currents'' (Dune, 2001) *

Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...

, ''On the Road Again'' (Doctor Jazz, 1983) * Teresa Brewer, ''American Music Box Vol. 1 The Songs of Irving Berlin'' (Doctor Jazz, 1987) *

Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1946) is an English rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest success in the late 1970s and 1980 ...

, ''Live with Friends'' (Eventful Music, 2006) * Chas and Dave, ''That's What Happens'' (Warner 2013) *

Jaki Graham Jacqueline Graham (born 15 September 1956) is a British singer-songwriter. Following her hit version of " Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" with David Grant in 1985, Graham scored a further five UK top 20 hits over a two-year period. In 1994, he ...

, ''Heaven Knows'' (EMI, 1985) *

, ''David Grisman's Acoustic Christmas'' (Rounder, 1983) * David Grisman, ''Dawg Jazz & Dawg Grass'' (Warner Bros., 1983) *

, ''Jazz Bass Baroque'' (Wave, 1988) * Kiri Te Kanawa, ''Kiri Sings Karl'' (EMI, 2006) * Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, ''Gossip'' (Mushroom, 1986) *

Carol Kidd Carol Kidd MBE (born 19 October 1945) is a Scottish jazz singer. Kidd was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She came to prominence in the mid-1970s, as the vocalist in the band led by vibraphonist / saxophonist Jimmy Feighan. In 1990, she released h ...

, ''All My Tomorrows'' (Aloi, 1985) *

Didier Lockwood Didier Lockwood (11 February 1956 – 18 February 2018) was a French violinist. He played in the French rock band Magma in the 1970s, and was known for his use of electric amplification and his experimentation with different sounds on the electri ...

, ''Waltz Club'' (EmArcy, 2006) * Didier Lockwood, ''For Stephane'' (Ames, 2008) * Claire Martin, ''Off Beat'' (Linn, 1995) *

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

, ''Journey to the Urge Within'' (Antilles, 1986) *

Prefab Sprout Prefab Sprout are an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they re ...

, ''

Andromeda Heights ''Andromeda Heights'' is the sixth studio album by the English pop group Prefab Sprout. It was released by Kitchenware Records on 2 May 1997. It peaked at number 7 in the UK Albums Chart. " A Prisoner of the Past" and "Electric Guitars" were als ...

'' (Kitchenware/Columbia, 1997) *

Spike Robinson Henry Bertholf "Spike" Robinson (January 16, 1930 – October 29, 2001) was a jazz tenor saxophonist. He began playing at age twelve, recording on several labels, including Discovery, Hep and Concord. However, he sought an engineering degree and ...

, ''London Reprise'' (Capri, 1984) *

, ''Bryn'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 2003)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Martin 1956 births 20th-century British guitarists 21st-century British guitarists Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings members English jazz guitarists English male guitarists Fingerstyle guitarists Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Harlow 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians Columbia Records artists