John Taylor
b. 25 September 1942, Manchester, England. A self-taught pianist, Taylor had established himself as one of the most respected British jazz pianists by the end of the '60s and has continued to consolidate his reputation ever since. He began his musical career with a dance band until 1964, when he moved to London, and began playing with other young lions of the time, such as John Surman, Alan Skidmoreand Norma Winstone, whom he would later marry. He also worked with established stars like Marian Montgomery, Cleo Laine and John Dankworth. In the late '60s he began to lead his own trio and sextet with Kenny Wheeler, Chris Pyne, Stan Sulzmann, Chris Laurence and Tony Levin. He also played in Sulzmann's quartet, with Winstone in Edge Of Time and with Mike Gibbs. He was a member of Surman's outstanding but short-lived Morning Glory with Terje Rypdal. His collaboration with Surman, which produced some of the most inventive and original jazz-based music of the '70s and '80s, has continued to the present. In the mid-70s he spent some time with the Ronnie Scottquintet. In 1977, with Wheeler and Winstone, he formed Azimuth (not to be confused with Azymuth), for which he writes most of the music. At the end of the decade he played with Jan Garbarek, Arild Andersen and Miroslav Vitous. He has also worked with Lee Konitz, John Warren, Graham Collier, and Harry Beckett. His rich, fluid playing, inspired in part by Bill Evans, is especially distinctive on ballads. He is also an accomplished composer, and credits Gibbs with being a fundamental influence on his writing. In the '90s Taylor continues to work with Azimuth, to play in a regular duo with Winstone and to lead his own trio, with Mick Hutton and Steve Argüelles.