Fingerstyle jazz guitarist to perform at Wilton Library
It seems only natural that Martin Taylor would choose to become a professional jazz guitarist.
“My father, Buck Taylor, was a jazz bassist, so I grew up hearing jazz all the time,” Taylor said. “He used to listen to a lot of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli and all those old Hot Club of France records. Django was the first guitarist I ever heard and is the reason I wanted to play the guitar. I couldn’t read music and didn’t have a guitar teacher, so I just listened to Django and tried to copy him from the records. I still don’t read music, but I developed a good ear from a very early age.”
From those early years, Taylor evolved into one of jazz guitar’s foremost figures. He’s earned a BBC lifetime achievement award and a record 14 British Jazz Awards. The fingerstyle guitar virtuoso performs at the Wilton Library’s Hot & Cool: Jazz at the Brubeck Room series at 4 p.m. Sunday. The concert is free, with a suggested donation of $10. Registration strongly suggested. Visit: wiltonlibrary.org
Of all the awards and honors the British guitarist has received in his career, a few stand out.
“The one I’m the most proud of technically isn’t an award. It’s an honor from the queen,” said Martin. “In 2002, I was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by the queen for Services to Jazz Music. I’ve also been given two honorary doctorates that I’m very proud of. I left school when I was 15 with no qualifications, so they came as a surprise. And Stephane Grappelli and I got a Grammy nomination back in 1987.”
He’s also content with his career thus far.
“I’m just very happy to be able to travel the world playing the music I love,” he said. “I still work a lot, I’m happy with how my life is at the moment.”
Taylor tours about three months a year in the United States and also tours in Europe and Asia. In his travels to over 20 countries around the globe, he’s discovered a few favorite spots to perform.
“Japan is a particular favorite of mine,” he said. “I’m fascinated by Japanese culture. I’ve been touring in the U.S. every year since 1979 and always enjoy touring here. And I do two U.K. tours each year, which I also enjoy. I started my musical career there, so it’s always good to visit old haunts.”
Martin is also a prolific recording artist with well over one hundred albums to his credit — he’s made more than 20 albums with the legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, alone. So, what are his favorites? “I think my first album for Sony/ Columbia, ‘Kiss and Tell,’ stands out for me, but one of my favorites is an album of guitar duets called ‘Double Standards.’ I recorded both guitar parts. It’s one of the few recordings of mine that I listen to. There’s also a couple of records I made with Stephane Grappelli. ‘Stephane Grappelli Plays Jerome Kern’ was a very enjoyable album to make. My most recent recording project is an album called ‘Love Songs.’ I played 14 beautiful romantic songs on a classical guitar. This was something very different for me.”
Teaching fingerstyle guitar also plays a big part of Martin Taylor’s career. For nearly a decade, he’s been offering online courses through ArtistWorks, one of the premier online musical instrument instruction platforms, and it a teaching platform that is available online through the Norwalk Public Library.
“I never considered teaching until 2010, when I was contacted by ArtistWorks in California to set up an online guitar school,” he said. “I’ve now taught literally thousands of guitarists around the world, and I also still run my annual guitar retreats in California, New York, Italy, and Scotland. I spent so much of my musical life learning it and doing it, and now is the time to teach it. We need to make the full circle complete.”
Martin’s concert at the Wilton Library on Sunday marks a return engagement for the jazz veteran. “I remember it’s a lovely room to play,” he said. “It’s perfect for a solo guitar recital, and I look forward to playing there again.”
And his set list isn’t set until he arrives. “I play mostly jazz standards, The Great American Songbook, and some of my own music. I don’t work from a set list. I prefer to just walk on stage and see what happens.”