Paul Taylor

Known for his smooth and sensuous saxophone playing, Paul Taylor has been a major attraction at smooth jazz festivals since the mid-1990s. Born and raised in Denver, Taylor started playing sax when he was 7. He gained early experience playing in a high school garage band called Mixed Company, performing funk, Top 40 and soulful fusion. Taylor graduated as a music performance major from the University of North Las Vegas, had many gigs in the Las Vegas area, and occasionally performed in Los Angeles. In 1994 he worked with keyboardist-producer Dino Esposito at the Catalina Island Jazz Trax Festival, where he was discovered by Keiko and Kazu Matsui. Taylor played with Keiko Matsui’s band for two years, recording as a sideman before Kazu Matsui produced Taylor’s debut CD, On the Horn; “Till We Meet Again” from the CD became a hit.

In addition to his success as a soloist, Taylor worked with the Rippingtons in 2000. He has made several very popular CDs for Peak, including Ladies’ Choice, which features vocals by Regina Belle, La Toya London and Terry Dexter. Taylor has also toured with Groovin’ For Grover, an all-star group with Jeff Lorber, Richard Elliot and Gerald Albright; acted and played on the soap opera One Life to Live; worked on Norman Brown’s Summer Storm II. tour and in 2007 was one of the stars of Brian Culbertson’s All-Star Smooth Jazz Cruise.