John Taylor As it is

Peter Erskine's group is openly influenced by both Bill Evan's Vanguard trio and Paul Bley's trio circa "Footloose" and "Closer", and brings some of their values into the present tense. At the same time, it has its own distinct character and understanding of dynamics. "As it Is" features works written primarily by John Taylor, with Erskine also contributing material. The group has been heralded for their understated approach to music which is performed with a controlled sense of freedom and simple lyricism.

Peter Erskine Trio, John Taylor, Palle Danielson - As It Was (2016) {4CD Old and New Masters Series ECM 2490-93}
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© 2016 ECM Records | Old and New Masters Series | ECM 2490-93
Jazz / Post Bop / Contemporary Jazz / Progressive Jazz / Drums

The newest addition to ECM’s popular Old and New Masters Series is a box set reprising the four albums made by Peter Erskine’s American-British-Swedish trio with John Taylor and Palle Danielsson between 1992 and 1997: You Never Know, As It Is, Time Being and Juni. If its core concept – a piano led by a drummer – was unorthodox, the group was nonetheless influential, and the recordings provide an excellent environment for appreciating the distinctive writing and playing of John Taylor.

When the British pianist and composer John Taylor died suddenly in 2015, his 1990s work in a trio with the former Weather Report drummer Peter Erskine and bassist Palle Danielsson was treated as something of an afterthought in such a rich career. But the Erskine-led group had a unique sound and repertoire (Taylor’s chemistry of romantic pastoralisms and jazz drive was a key influence), and a rare collaborative alertness. This box packages all four of their ECM recordings between 1992 and 1997. Taylor’s darting, jig-like Clapperclowe sounds wonderful here with Erskine’s warm-toned pattering behind it; the drummer’s faintly Jarrettish On the Lake is a ballad highlight; Taylor’s devotion to Bill Evans’ ambiguously romantic harmonies surfaces frequently…

John Taylor - Requiem For A Dreamer (2011) {CAM Jazz CAMJ 7834-2}
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© 2011 CAM Jazz | CAMJ 7834-2
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Piano

John Taylor’s fabulous trio, plus Julian Arguelles on sax… The successful trio reunites for another classically elegant recording, this time adding a sax, which spontaneously and seamlessly blends in to make this a striking and remarkable album. Like an oxymoron in chiaroscuro, the music by the English pianist in his latest “Requiem For A Dreamer” moves with a complex simplicity; the simplicity of listening and the lyricism of the melody contrasted by a formal richness and research that is beyond simple or trivial.

This isn't just a 2-CD set of some unbelievable guitar work from a long-esteemed player of truly formidable skill but rather a treasury that proves beyond doubt that Melvin Taylor needs to be placed within the museum of the guitar greats: Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Chet Atkins, Frank Zappa, Earl Klugh, Jim Hall, Leo Kottke, Robert Fripp, Grant Green, Pat Metheny…all of 'em, regardless of style and genre. And he not only plays all the many layers of various guitars here but bass as well in a nominally foursome format.