Last of the Great Cats:
my Dave Taylor fan page

I know many gifted musicians, but there's only one Dave Taylor.

I first heard about Dave from mutual friend Chris Gekker, who had provided him with an audio cassette of my project-studio solo album Animus mundi back in the pre-Soundcloud 1990s. Word got back to me that Dave liked the tape and played it often, which was wondrous to contemplate, since nobody else shared that enthusiasm. Dave also happened to be a friend of composer Eric Ewazen, through whom I finally made his personal acquaintance after I moved to New York a decade later. Providentially, it turned out that my wife Karen also knew Dave through his professional association with her father Gerald Alters, a commercial composer-arranger who used to hire Dave for recording sessions at which Karen worked as Gerald's assistant. Small world.

VIDEO:

Dave’s professional bio (as of December 17, 2023):

After receiving B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Juilliard School, David Taylor embarked upon his career as a member of Leopold Stowkowski’s American Symphony Orchestra, and by appearing with the New York Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez. Concurrently, he was a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis jazz band, and recorded with Duke Ellington, The Rolling Stones, and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Mr. Taylor has recorded solo albums on the Koch, New World, and DMP labels, and has presented numerous recitals throughout the world, appearing at Carnegie Recital Hall, Kaufman Auditorium, the 92nd Street Y, and Merkin Hall, among other venues. He has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Caramoor Festival Orchestra, The NY Chamber Symphony, The Basil Sinfonietta, The Adelaide Philharmonic, and The Group for Contemporary Music. He has been involved in dozens of commissioning projects for the bass trombone in solo and chamber idioms, collaborating with composers Alan Hovhaness, Charles Wuorinen, George Perle, Frederic Rzewski, Lucia Dlugoszchewski, Eric Ewazen, David Liebman, and Daniel Schnyder. He has appeared and recorded chamber music with Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Wynton Marsalis. Throughout his career, David Taylor has appeared and recorded with major jazz and popular artists including Barbara Streisand, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra, and Aretha Franklin. Mr. Taylor has won the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Most Valuable Player Award for five consecutive years, the maximum number it could be awarded to a single artist, and has been awarded the NARAS Most Valuable Player Virtuoso Award, an honor accorded no other bass trombonist. He has been a member of the Gil Evans Band, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Band, George Russell's Band, the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, and the Chuck Israel Band, among other jazz groups. Although he has performed on numerous Grammy Award-winning recordings, 1998 was uniquely rewarding: that year, Taylor performed on Grammy-nominated albums by the J.J. Johnson Big Band, Dave Grusin, the Joe Henderson Big Band, and the Randy Brecker Band. The latter two recordings were awarded Grammys.

David Taylor currently performs with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Charles Mingus Big Band, Eos Orchestra, The NY Chamber Symphony, The Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, The Michelle Camillo Band, Areopagitica (a brass trio in residence at Mannes College), The Bob Mintzer Band, the Daniel Schnyder, David Taylor, and the Kenny Drew Jr Trio. He appears frequently with Orpheus, and the St. Lukes Chamber Orchestra, and he is on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and Mannes College.

Dave speaks many musical dialects fluently, including a few he's invented:

PARTIAL DISCOGRAPHY

But beyond kickass technical virtuosity, Dave also has soul and effortless cool at his command, virtues that inform his relationship with life.

Dave and Ronnie Taylor

My brother from another galaxy