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Tom Taylor
Tom is one of the winners of Musician Magazine's "Best Unsigned Band" contest. His winning entry from The Crossing, "Aubade," is described as "the hardest tune I ever had to record" by mandolin virtuoso David Grisman. When Tom's full orchestral arrangement of "Big Basin Breakdown" (also from The Crossing, with guests the Kronos Quartet) received its European premier, it brought down the house at the famed Hercules and Prinzregenten theatres in Munich, Germany. Its blend of bluegrass, jazz, and baroque melodies received a 5-minute standing ovation! Listen to excerpts at iTunes.com, www.tom-taylor.com and cdbaby.com/cd/taylortom
"the rare jazz-classical amalgam that really works"
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Tom Taylor: The Crossing
by Ed Kopp
Summit Records recently re-released Tom Taylor's 1986 CD The Crossing, a sophisticated fusion effort that should please fans of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Jean Luc Ponty and the Pat Metheny Group.Taylor is a guitarist and composer who blends classical styles with jazz and hints of bluegrass. Many similar attempts at fusing jazz with classical music have seemed pretentious, but The Crossing works on the strength of the leader's original compositions and his players' vituosity. The CD features ...
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by Jack Bowers
Asked what kind of music he writes, composer / guitarist Taylor replies, “Tom Taylor music.” He does have a keen ear for a charming melody, that’s for sure. Jazz, strictly speaking, it ain’t (although some parts might qualify); interesting, it definitely is. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Taylor’s eccentric compositions, which blend elements of Jazz, rock, bluegrass, baroque, world music and other formats into an appetizing smorgasbord that isn’t easy to pigeonhole — which, I’m sure Taylor would agree, is ...
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by David Adler
“Aubade," the first track on this disc, won guitarist/composer Tom Taylor the Musician magazine “best unsigned band" contest in 1997. The tune does reveal the workings of an exceptional musical mind. Folky melodies bump up against harmonic and rhythmic concepts borrowed from classical and jazz fusion. Taylor’s multi-tracked acoustic and electric guitars mesh with David Grisman’s mandolin, Joe Caploe’s vibes, Rick Steffens’s bass, and Curt Moore’s drums to create an appealing example of what’s been dubbed “new acoustic music."
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by Glenn Astarita
Not often will you hear successful renderings of music from artists who pursue extremely complex time signatures, rapid thematic development and fierce well-stated soloing while melding disparate musical elements. Well folks sometimes it takes someone who possesses a fresh attitude or has been a keen student or observer to rise from beneath the shadows of anonymity.... On his debut recording, guitarist Tom Taylor along with his extremely tight and on-target rhythm section perform effortlessly with grace, imagination and vast amounts ...
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by Jim Santella
Remember the impact Mason Williams’ instrumental hit “Classical Gas" had on 1960s audiences? Elegant, early classical timbres mixed with the rock generation’s beat, and produced something we all appreciated. Tom Taylor’s tone poems come out of a 17th-century baroque style, but with electric bass, a drummer, guitars, and a natural sound from vibraharp. Without the motor, Joe Caploe’s vibes has no lingering vibrato, a lighter, quicker sound, and considerable agility.
The Crossing features several guests working with Taylor’s quartet. “Swamp ...
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