COMPOSERS: Martin Taylor
LABELS: P3 MUSIC
PERFORMER: MARTIN TAYLOR
CATALOGUE NO: P3M 005
Moving from the voice in the literal sense to the voice in the sense of a distinctive musical signature brings us to the superlative guitarist MARTIN TAYLOR, whose departure from Sony Jazz (other than in Japan) has clearly done nothing to distract him if Solo is anything to go by.
Taylor’s style is unique: he effectively treats the upper, middle and lower registers of the guitar as three individual instruments, producing a melody, a chordal accompaniment and a bass line respectively. This may sound horribly tricksy, but Taylor’s extraordinary musicality makes it seem as if this is simply the way the guitar is supposed to be played. Jazz guitar is often a love-or-hate thing, but this mixture of standards and originals is essential listening, even for non-aficionados.