John Taylor

John Taylor’s fabulous trio, plus Julian Arguelles on sax... The successful trio reunites for another classically elegant recording, this time adding a sax, which spontaneously and seamlessly blends in to make this a striking and remarkable album. Like an oxymoron in chiaroscuro, the music by the English pianist in his latest “Requiem For A Dreamer” moves with a complex simplicity; the simplicity of listening and the lyricism of the melody contrasted by a formal richness and research that is beyond simple or trivial. Commissioned in 2007 by the British University of York, this album, just released by CAM Jazz (Roman label which John Taylor has been working with now for years, and with which he has formed a preferred collaboration), finds inspiration in the work of the incomparable American writer Kurt Vonnegut. Together with Julian Argüelles (tenor and soprano sax), Palle Danielsson (bass) and Martin France (drums), Taylor is inspired by some of the most beautiful pages by the writer who died in 2007: from the famous Slaughterhouse-Five, moving along to that of Requiem For A Dreamer (published by the magazine In These Times), and ending up at Ice-Nine. “It was a delight to make this recording with these wonderful musicians”, explains Taylor, “whose invention and seemingly effortless music-making knows no bounds. I hope you enjoy the music and can sense something of the joy we felt in making it together”. An inspired and engaging work in which Taylor seems to go beyond himself because, just as Vonnegut once wrote, a “work of art is the artist's struggle against his or her limitations".

Recorded and mixed in Ludwigsburg on 12, 13, 14 December 2008 at Bauer Studios
Recording and mixing engineer Johannes Wohlleben