Paul Taylor

高音爵士薩克斯手Paul Taylor保羅·泰勒在年輕一代的Smooth Jazz樂手中當數(shù)佼佼者，個人作品每經(jīng)推出都可以拿到前10名甚至前5名的成績，因此他還成為了各大Smooth Jazz電臺追捧的對象。保羅·泰勒出生在科羅拉多丹佛市，在他六歲的時候開始學(xué)習(xí)薩克斯的演奏，從小他就喜歡黑人靈歌Soul Music, 而在他大學(xué)畢業(yè)以后的演奏生涯當中，他也非常喜愛把Soul、Funk以及Jazz融合在一起來演奏，在他未成名之前他曾和Jeff Lorber合作過，而對于他來說職業(yè)生涯的轉(zhuǎn)折點是在1994年，Jeff Lorber邀請他和他一起參加了在Catalina島舉辦的著名的Jazz Trax爵士音樂節(jié)。在那里由于保羅·泰勒出色的表演，被日本鋼琴家Keiko Matisui松居慶子和他的制作人丈夫Kazu Matsui松居和所發(fā)掘，然后保羅·泰勒便參與Keiko Matsui的專輯錄制，這一來就是兩年。在這兩年當中，保羅·泰勒學(xué)到了很多，而且很快也在Smooth Jazz領(lǐng)域找到的自己的位置，隨后他開始了他獨奏的生涯。1995年-2000年他在N-Coded唱片公司旗下發(fā)行的三張專輯都獲得了很大的成功，無論在billboard還是在Smooth Jazz Radio都有很驕人的成績。隨后在2000年，Russ Freeman邀請他加入現(xiàn)代爵士名團The Rippingtons, 并隨隊一起巡回演出，后來保羅·泰勒更是轉(zhuǎn)投到Russ Freeman自己所創(chuàng)建的廠牌Peak Records。
by William Ruhlmann
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.