Paul Taylor - On The Horn (1995) [2002, N-Coded Music, NC-4228-2]

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Paul Taylor - On The Horn (1995) [2002, N-Coded Music, NC-4228-2]

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It's an unwritten rule in smooth jazz that within every great sideman there is a solo artist itching to emerge, and saxman Paul Taylor – who's added soulful spark and texture to Keiko Matsui's live band for several years – makes the most of his first big moment alone on the horn. Keiko's producer and husband Kazu has helmed projects for a dashing handful of some of the genre's most exciting artists in recent years (most notably Porcupine), but he has never before elicited the volatile mixture of smoldering soul and passion he pulls out of Taylor. First and foremost, he directs Taylor's walloping soprano and alto sweeps through a slamming series of bold hip-hop layers, miraculously without letting the machinery dominate. Creamy ballads which will have everyone wondering why Kenny G sells so many more units are peppered throughout, but it's midtempo classics to be, like "Dream Come True," which combine all the sensuality and danceability this collection strives for. Keiko's wondrous piano solo on this track, however, may make you wish for more organic ideas and a little less of Derek Nakamoto's synth wizardry. Though Taylor has a knack for writing picture perfect melodies, he spices things up with covers of classics by Seal and Chic. Every year, there is a glut of new hot sax players on the scene, screaming out for airtime alongside more established acts. With any luck, the bouncy grandeur of Taylor will make him the guy future performers will be trying to push aside to make room for the next standard setter.

~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide

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Paul Taylor - On The Horn (1995) [2002, N-Coded Music, NC-4228-2]

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Paul Taylor:

Born: 1972, Denver, CO
Active: 2000s
Genres: Jazz
Instrument: Sax (Soprano), Sax (Alto), Keyboards
Representative Albums: "Greatest Hits", "Legends, Vol. 2: Jazz"
Representative Songs: "Avenue", "Pleasure Seeker", "Exotica"

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.

~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi

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Paul Taylor - On The Horn (1995) [2002, N-Coded Music, NC-4228-2]

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Paul Taylor - On The Horn (1995) [2002, N-Coded Music, NC-4228-2]

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