PAUL TAYLOR (Sun, 11/29/26)

Paul Taylor grew up in Denver, where he took up the saxophone at the age of seven. He played in school bands and in high school joined a Top 40 band called Mixed Company. Jazz keyboardist Keiko Matsui and her husband, producer Kazu Matsui, discovered him playing at the Catalina Island Jazz Festival and hired him to play in their band. He spent two years with them, and then Kazu Matsui produced his 1995 debut album, On the Horn, which reached the jazz charts and spawned a radio hit in “Til We Meet Again.” Pleasure Seeker, his second album, followed in 1997 and was equally successful.

Taylor released his third album, Undercover, on Peak/N-Coded Music in February 2000. Also in 2000, he toured as a special guest artist with the Rippingtons. Subsequent albums Hypnotic (2001), Steppin’ Out (2003), Nightlife (2005), and Ladies’ Choice (2007), all issued by Peak Records, figured high in the contemporary jazz charts, with Ladies’ Choice going all the way to number one. Peak released Taylor’s eighth album, Burnin’, in 2009. Two years later, Taylor returned with the album Prime Time. In 2014, Taylor released Tenacity, which featured guest appearances from Jeff Lorber and Jonathan Fritzen. The album was produced by Dino Esposito, who was also at the controls for Taylor’s 2016 release Countdown, which cracked the Top Ten of the jazz album charts.

The number thirteen is cloaked in mysticism, regarded by some cultures as unlucky and revered by others as a sacred good omen or the birth of a new beginning. Saxophonist Paul Taylor’s anticipated new recording and Shanachie debut, It’s A Brand New Day, is his thirteenth recording as a leader. The charming and down-to-earth saxman reveals, “This album in some ways signifies a new cycle for me, as this is my first new recording in three years. The title speaks to my desire to give my fans an optimistic outlook as we approach every brand new day.” The chart-topping saxophonist has enjoyed an enviable career with a string of Billboard #1 hits and collaborations with a genre-crossing list of musicians including Regina Belle, Maxi Priest, Peabo Bryson, and Keiko Matsui. The Rippingtons, Peter White, Euge Groove, Michael Lington, Jamie Jones and Marion Meadows. Taylor confesses, “I simply love creating and making my own music. I am the happiest when I am doing just this. It never gets old.” Danny Weiss, VP of Shanchie’s Jazz A&R, states, “I’ve been an admirer of Paul’s brilliant work dating back to his very first recordings. His superb tone and phrasing are second to none. Paul Taylor is a true icon whose status is well deserved.”