Ask Mark Taylor

Pete C · June-11th-2003, 03:16 PM

Mark, the Bumbershoot Festival lineup lists a Mark Taylor Quartet. Is that you? AMG lists several Mark Taylors.

mtaylorjazz · June-11th-2003, 03:24 PM

not unless they forgot to tell me about it!

there are a WHOLE bunch of Mark Taylor's in various genres at AMG and i've written them a few times to try and clean up my discography (i never sang backup on those gospel CDs...no, really!).

there's a saxophonist named Mark Taylor that's getting a little attention now as well as the big-band arranger that's been around for a looong time (everytime i'm around college students, they ask if i wrote some chart of another that they're playing at school) and the British drummer, too. I should start a band all guys named Mark Taylor! that'd be a trip, eh?

mark

----
Circle Squared @ CDBaby

Pete C · June-11th-2003, 03:42 PM

Mark, I'll bet it's a Pacific Northwest musician then.

Pete C · June-11th-2003, 04:07 PM

Mark, now that I've made you the star of your own thread, and since Threadgill is one of my favorite composers, is there anything you can share about his process of rehearsing and shaping a piece? Does he come to a group with a composition pretty much worked out, or does it morph considerably with rehearsal? And were you part of the Society Situation Dance Band project?

mtaylorjazz · June-11th-2003, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pete C
Mark, now that I've made you the star of your own thread, and since Threadgill is one of my favorite composers, is there anything you can share about his process of rehearsing and shaping a piece? Does he come to a group with a composition pretty much worked out, or does it morph considerably with rehearsal? And were you part of the Society Situation Dance Band project?

star of my own thread? i'd better get new sunglasses! LOL

I guess the answer would be... both. I found working with Threadgill to be one of the most incredible experiences of my life. at the time i started with the Circus, i was on a practice regimen of Omnibook workouts and the like. when i went into rehearsal with the band i discovered that i had to completely revamp my approach to improvisation (changed my writing, too)!

Every so often Threadgill would change his compositional approach, how he organized the music as he wrote it as well as what (and how much) information we as players were allowed access to. very rarely did we get a "lead sheet and changes" kind of tune.

He also has gigantic ears. i got kinda parnoid about warming up around him. you know you do all kinds of extreme things to get ready to play and if he heard something he liked the sound of, it'd show up in the next batch of music he brought in! YIKES!!

so there was great variation in the way the material got from Threadgill's head to the audiences. one thing i can say though is that the paper was always just a starting point, a reference or signpost. So there was often a fair amount of discussion to nail down his intent and to find where the space to stretch was (which was often a process in rehearsal and would then change on the road...)

hope that helps and, no i never got to play with the Dance Band. rats!

m

Pete C · June-11th-2003, 07:20 PM

Thanks, Mark. Not surprising that an experience like that would stretch your own composition and improvising. The Mingus effect...

Robin Eubanks · June-12th-2003, 09:34 PM

Hi Mark ,

Thanks for posting on our thread and reviving the questions I posted last month.
I'd like to invite you back to post your responses to those questions.

Thanks again,

-Robin

PS - Interesting answer to the question about Threadgill :-)

mtaylorjazz · June-12th-2003, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Robin Eubanks
Hi Mark ,

Thanks for posting on our thread and reviving the questions I posted last month.
I'd like to invite you back to post your responses to those questions.

Thanks again,

-Robin

PS - Interesting answer to the question about Threadgill :-)

hey robin,

i wanted to take a little time to gather my thoughts on your questions. it's a topic i've thought a lot about (i remember as a kid being really sad when i realized that other people didn't hear music the way i did...) so i hope my answers will be useful.

i also wanted to say that, when i first moved to NY (early 90s), Howard Johnson gave me your number along with some other folks he thought i should meet (as a newbie to the scene). you were about the second person i ever phoned in NYC and during our (short) conversation, you told me that things here are tough, but you gotta hang in to get where you want to go (not in so many words, but that was the idea). some really good info there so...thanks

mark

Circle Squared

mtaylorjazz · June-12th-2003, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pete C
Thanks, Mark. Not surprising that an experience like that would stretch your own composition and improvising. The Mingus effect...

indeed. everything you see, hear, etc. goes into your music, but there are those whose input affects your work so strongly that everything you do is changed.

at least that's what i think.

mtaylorjazz · June-21st-2003, 02:16 PM

Happy Summer everyone!!

A couple of trio gigs coming up. Come on down and check ?em out. Bring a friend (or 10!)

MARK TAYLOR TRIO
mark taylor - horn
quintin franklin - bass
eli fountain - drums

Saturday, June 28 @ Detour.
349 E. 13th St.
212.533.6212

Sets starting at 9:30pm
http://www.jazzatdetour.com/
for more information, directions etc.

NU TRIO
mark taylor - horn
eli fountain - percussion
darryl hall - bass

BARBES BARBES BARBES BARBES BARBES
wednesday, july 23rd
376 9th St. at 6th ave, Brooklyn
718 965 9177
http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com
f train to seventh ave in park slope $8 admission

We?ll also have copies of Circle Squared, my new quartet release featuring Myra Melford, Brad Jones and Matt Wilson, available for sale. Hope to see you there!
Circle Squared

Pete C · August-4th-2003, 12:12 AM

Talk about some heavy dates...So, I knew about the Threadgill stuff, but I'm listening to one of the great albums of the last 20 years, and there you are again.

Muhal, Blu Blu Blu.

graypencil · August-12th-2003, 06:06 PM

Hi Mark ( NYC Mark that is

)

Being from the Pacific NW and a composer /arranger, I think I can straighten out some other the miscellaneous re- Marks ( groan ...)

the in fact IS a fine alto sax guy in Seattle also named Mark Taylor, who in addition to fronting his own groups and recording several albums, also plays with the very interesting Gil Evansish Jim Knapp Orchestra ( also in Seattle )

I'm also acquainted with the ARRANGER Mark Taylor ..who lives in Florida and writes a lotta stuff for Hal Leonard ..and co- runs the very fine mainstream Taylor/Fidyk big band ..

Phil Kelly ( the drummer /arranger ..NOT the English keyboardist Phil Kelly )

mtaylorjazz · August-15th-2003, 02:35 PM

hey guys,

been offline for awhile (writing music for my gig in Guelph in Sept.) and haven't responded here.

Blu Blu Blu was one of the first records i played on (if not THE first) after moving to NYC in the early 90s. Great band, great music and my first review in print. pretty heady stuff for me in those days!

my wife always kids me about the marketing possiblities of an "all Mark Taylor band". it would be an interesting idea. after several months of trying, the All Music Guide still can't get my second CD (Circle Squared) under the right Mark Taylor. We're getting closer though. You'd think the big ol' picture of a guy playing a FRENCH HORN on the cover would tip them off!

a review wouldn't hurt either...

========
Circle Squared @ CDBaby.com

Mark-Taylor.biz

mtaylorjazz · August-31st-2003, 04:38 PM

Taylor/Melford/Simmons

Mark Taylor - horn
Myra Melford - piano
Bourque Simmons - soprano voice

New music for horn, voice and piano based on text by Robert Creeley.

Saturday, Sept. 6 @ 8pm
Chalmers United Church
50 Quebec Street
Guelph, ON
for more info: info@guelphjazzfestival.com

Mark Taylor Quartet

Mark Taylor - horn
Jim Vivian - bass
Terry Clarke - drums
Bernie Senesky - piano

Sunday, Sept. 7 @ 9pm
The Rex Jazz and Blues Bar
194 Queen St. W.
Toronto, ON _ Canada
Phone 416-598-2475

Originals, Monk toons and the occasional standard with a wonderful group of Toronto musicians!

Circle Squared the CD!!

Dennis Gonzalez · October-27th-2003, 07:48 PM

About a week before I left for Boston -->Connecticut, I was in a tizzy of getting my horns and equipment together for the session, and I was doing a full 8-hour day teaching, plus Aaron was in the process of moving out of the house into his own apartment, and I was beginning a re-mix on the Boston project CD for Clean Feed...and a CD arrived in the mail that smoothed out my preparations and my mind. Circle Squared by Mark Taylor!!

Just now I am getting a second to express my appreciation for a beautiful gift of some really wonderful, swinging music. It helped me focus, and I was blown away by the virtuosity and the clear, resourceful soloing by Mr. Taylor. I should have bought it long ago, but you know that good things always come at the right time.

Thank you, Mark, for the great CD, which couldn't have come at a better time. Your compositions are top notch, and your playing is even more top notcher! And to our Jazz Corner colleagues, I heartily recommend the CD. I am especially in awe of Myra Melford.

mtaylorjazz · October-28th-2003, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dennis Gonzalez
Thank you, Mark, for the great CD, which couldn't have come at a better time. Your compositions are top notch, and your playing is even more top notcher! And to our Jazz Corner colleagues, I heartily recommend the CD. I am especially in awe of Myra Melford.

thank YOU dennis! you're right, good things DO come at the right time and i needed those words right now! with all you have going on, it's amazing what you're able to accomplish every day. i'm looking forward to hearing the new projects (i've downloaded a bunch of stuff from your website and am anxiously trying to clear some time to do some serious listening to it) and i really want us to do something together sometime soon.

oh yeah, myra is AMAZING! i love playing music with her!

Circle Squared @ CDBaby.com

Mike Schwartz · November-1st-2003, 03:26 PM

Mark,
I e-mailed you amessage at CD Baby a few days ago...checking to see if you received it as yet. If for some reson you haven't e-mail me re; Weast Coast radio play. Thanks

mtaylorjazz · November-3rd-2003, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Schwartz
Mark,
I e-mailed you amessage at CD Baby a few days ago...checking to see if you received it as yet. If for some reson you haven't e-mail me re; Weast Coast radio play. Thanks

mike,

i just pm'd you cuz i didn't get the email. i'll try emailing you through your jc profile. thanks

mt

-----------
outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. inside of a dog, it's too dark to read

Mike Schwartz · November-11th-2003, 06:34 PM

Mark,
You came over to Ellery's thread for some fascinating talk about practice and such.

I was wondering....
Ellery, Robin, Dennis, all 3 guys with tremendous personalities of thier own had the model of countless saxophone, trombone, and trumpet models before them as mentors, heroes or possible reference points.

Remembering that ALL these instruments are very difficult at the level you all are playing them, the French Horn has got to be THE most difficult tiger to attempt to tame.

Do you mind sharing some experience on how you found the path your on, taking the horn to the places you're taking it, and who you may have utilized as possible foundation musicians?

mtaylorjazz · November-12th-2003, 03:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Schwartz
Mark,
You came over to Ellery's thread for some fascinating talk about practice and such.

I was wondering....
Ellery, Robin, Dennis, all 3 guys with tremendous personalities of thier own had the model of countless saxophone, trombone, and trumpet models before them as mentors, heroes or possible reference points.

Remembering that ALL these instruments are very difficult at the level you all are playing them, the French Horn has got to be THE most difficult tiger to attempt to tame.

Do you mind sharing some experience on how you found the path your on, taking the horn to the places you're taking it, and who you may have utilized as possible foundation musicians?

hey mike,

I started listening to jazz in college and Miles was the first player i could really get into. Prolly the way he used space and inflection. One day as i was leaving my horn lesson (University of TN), the sax teacher stopped me in the hall as said (use your best gravelly southern twang here), "if you're gonna play jazz on that thing, you gotta listen to this guy!" as he handed me a cassette of those sessions Monk did with Sonny Rollins and Julius Watkins. i was in heaven. someone had actually done what (i was just starting to realize) i wanted to do in music. after that, it seemed things snowballed and i got hip to JJ and Clark Terry (still one of my faves) and Woody Shaw spun my head completely around. as a composer, Double Double You (Kenny Wheeler) and Three Quartets (Chick Corea) opened up a lot of ideas about small group writing. i still couldn't listen to Dizzy or Coltrane without wanting to shoot myself in the head, though.

in Boston, i studied with Dave Holland for about a year and he showed me some very interesting things conceptually about harmony and rhythm (plus i got to spend an hour a week playing duets with him, how cool was that!) and he really pushed me to examine my dedication to playing improvised music. I would consider him a mentor because he took the time to tell me, in no uncertain terms, when i was screwing up - big time. Working with Threadgill completely changed my writing and playing and opened up all sorts of ideas about how music could be organized and executed.

Max Roach, Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie and Henry Threadgill are my biggest influences/mentors in living a life playing creative music which actually seems to be that hardest part to get together...

Prolly WAY more info than you wanted, so i'll stop rambling now.

m

--

Circle Squared @ CDBaby

mtaylorjazz · November-12th-2003, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtaylorjazz
hey mike,

I started listening to jazz in college and Miles was the first player i could really get into.

actually, that's not true. before that i was totally taken with those CTI recordings of Bob James and Grover Washington, Jr., Hubert Laws, etc. Bob James arrangements with VERY large orchestras. Made me want to do studio work...

Mike Schwartz · November-12th-2003, 03:13 PM

Thanks Mark,a very interesting path indeed......the kind of stuff we'll be covering on 12/07 on KSJS 90.5FM, San Jose and www.ksjs.org 12 Noon Eastern/9AM Pacific

Ellery Eskelin · November-14th-2003, 10:49 AM

Hi Mark,
Great to meet you the other night (Mark stopped by Barbés, a small club in Brooklyn - he’ll be playing there in a couple weeks) - just listened to your CD (Circle Squared) - excellent work, especially like the last cut “Helix”.

See ya...

Mike Schwartz · December-1st-2003, 05:22 PM

Hey y'all... Mark kicks off a month full of fantastic guests joining me on the weekly Internet/Radio_cast at www.ksjs.org 12Noon Eastern/9AM Pacific [90.5FM Bay Area] this coming Sunday December 7!!

The full guest list is posted on 'Jazz News'

Mark,
BIG ups on "Circle Squared!!"

Looking forward to you're guest appearance Sunday...

mtaylorjazz · December-1st-2003, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Schwartz
Hey y'all... Mark kicks off a month full of fantastic guests joining me on the weekly Internet/Radio_cast at www.ksjs.org 12Noon Eastern/9AM Pacific [90.5FM Bay Area] this coming Sunday December 7!!

The full guest list is posted on 'Jazz News'

Mark,
BIG ups on "Circle Squared!!"

Looking forward to you're guest appearance Sunday...

hey mike,

yep, i'm pretty psyched about it too! glad you're enjoying the CD and thanks for keeping my thread alive.

Circle Squared @ CDBaby

mtaylorjazz · December-3rd-2003, 03:24 PM

MERRY HAPPY HAPPY MERRY
to everyone! Just a few outings in December you might want to make!

Dec 7 @ 12 noon – Radio interview with Mike Schwartz of KSJS in San Jose. It’ll also be webcast at http://www.ksjs.org
So don’t miss it!

Dec. 20 – LIMITED LIABILITY @ Detour 349 E.13th St. 212.533.6212
http://www.jazzatdetour.com
mark taylor – horn
lalo – vibes
ken filiano – bass
gerald cleaver – drums
...and the mystery guitarist!!

Dec. 22 - SHUFFLE BOIL @ nublu bar/lounge 62 ave C 212 979 9925
http://www.nublu.net
michael attias - alto/baritone saxophones
mark taylor - french horn
brad jones - bass
matt wilson - drums

My latest CD, Circle Squared will be available at both gigs and, as always, direct from me!

Mark Kleinhaut · December-4th-2003, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtaylorjazz

...and the mystery guitarist!!

Hi Mark, this caught my attention, not just because of the shroud of mystery (always a cool thing), but the thought of the sounds blending between fr.horn and guitar. I'm trying to imagine the combination and what I hear in my head is beautiful, though perhaps with no basis in reality. I'd stop in if I was in the neighborhood, and maybe that will happen some other time, but in the meantime can you comment on the horn/guitar thing. Do you have any recordings of this combo (with you or others?) THanks

mtaylorjazz · December-5th-2003, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mark kleinhaut
I'd stop in if I was in the neighborhood, and maybe that will happen some other time, but in the meantime can you comment on the horn/guitar thing. Do you have any recordings of this combo (with you or others?)

hey mark,

if you were in the neighbourhood, you could play the gig!

i've done a few things with horn and guitar (usually with Brandon Ross) and you're right, it's a beautiful combination. all blend-y and atmospheric and stuff. this project is new and i'm really excited to hear how it's gonna turn out. i have to admit i really LOVE playing with piano and it was awhile before i really started to appreciate the spatial and suggestive aspects of playing with guitarists. does that make sense? i could be wrong, but it seems to me that guitarists pick a few notes that tend to suggest a lot of other possibilities. hinting at things, rather than being too explicit (not that pianists can't do that too). maybe it's just the guitarists i play with...

maybe i'll get up your way and we can do some playing and see how it works out!

m

----
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's much too dark to read a book."
Mark Taylor Website

Mark Kleinhaut · December-5th-2003, 12:50 PM

It may be the guitarists you play with, and of course there are more exceptions than rules with any of this, but I do think overall I have to agree with you, that pianists just plain play more "stuff". Part of this is due to the physics of the instruments. Piano can be so more dense (in a good way), though piano players can sometimes be "dense" in a not-so good way. My greatest respect goes out to piano players who can restrain from playing shit, just because they can and who really listen. I rarely enjoy working with piano players, but it can be heaven when it's right. I know the same is oft said of guitarists.

If you like, email me your address and we can arrange a CD swap. I'd love to hear your disc and have you hear mine. Then we could talk some more.......

markkleinhaut@hotmail.com

Tanager · December-8th-2003, 10:09 AM

Hi Mark,

I just ordered your disk from CD Baby. Aside from the fact that I'm really looking forward to hearing your work, I have to say that CD Baby seems like a great concept - as I understand it, it allows musicians to sell directly to the public?

Anyways, I'm really excited about hearing your music!