SOMETHING IN THE WATER?
There have been some very fine guitar players who have evolved from the Surrey/SW London area over the years. Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Big Jim Sullivan, Martin Taylor & Nigel Price just to name a few. And some of these fine guitarists can celebrate a Birthday in the month of October. So perhaps it isn’t just the water?
HAPPY 68th BIRTHDAY TO MARTIN TAYLOR!!!
British jazz musician Martin Taylor is known as the guitarist's guitarist. Since the death of Joe Pass in 1994, Martin Taylor has become one of the most highly regarded guitarists in jazz. He was given his first guitar by his father, Buck Taylor. Although he was inspired at first by Django Reinhardt, it was piano players like Art Tatum that drew his attention and helped him practice to develop his phenomenal solo technique. In the late '70s, Stéphane Grappelli invited him to play in a series of concerts in France. The violinist was so impressed that he used Taylor often on tours and a variety of recording dates. Beginning in 1990, Taylor began recording a number of acclaimed CDs for the U.K. label Linn, and also did an excellent duet date with David Grisman for the mandolin player's Acoustic Disc label. 1991's Change of Heart, the following year's Artistry, and 1995's Portraits, are all representative of Taylor's strongest material from this prolific period.
KISS & TELL
In 2000, he released his debut on an American label, Columbia, entitled Kiss and Tell, while Stepping Stones on Linn followed that same fall. Next, in June 2002, Taylor was awarded an MBE for his services to jazz. Later that year, his first recording for the Sony imprint P3 Records, Solo, was voted Best Album by the International Guitar Foundation. The rest of the decade saw Taylor issue a number of key additions to his canon: the fan-instigated, 2003 collaboration with Steve Howe entitled Masterpiece Guitars, the 2005 electric guitar-fueled Gypsy Journey, and the acclaimed 2008 album Double Standards. While Double Standards saw Taylor successfully deliver an album of guitar duets by overdubbing one guitar part onto another, his next run of albums were much more collaborative affairs. Two 2012 albums -- One for the Road and First Time Together! -- in turn saw him work with the English clarinetist Alan Barnes, and the U.S. guitarist Frank Vignola. 2013 brought a further meeting of technically gifted players when Taylor received equal billing on The Colonel & The Governor, an album of duets with the similarly revered guitarist Tommy Emmanuel. Source: Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
HAPPY 58th BIRTHDAY TO NIGEL PRICE!!!
Over a career spanning more than 30 years, award winning jazz guitarist Nigel Price has become widely acknowledged as one of the hardest working musicians in the business. Musically, his blend of flowing bebop lines, deep blues sensibility and his mastery of chording continue to delight audiences and fellow musicians alike.
Nigel has played on more than 50 albums including 10 as a leader, spent ten years with acid jazz outfit The Filthy Six, was a member of James Taylor’s band (JTQ) for 3 years (with whom he recorded 5 albums) and performed with the legendary David Axelrod. He has also taught at The International Guitar Foundation at King’s Place, London. He has worked tirelessly to organise his own UK tours (14 in total, including a 56 date tour in late 2016) and has picked up a Parliamentary Jazz Award (Best Jazz Ensemble, 2010), a nomination for a British Jazz Award (Best Guitarist, 2014) and a British Jazz Award (Best Guitarist, 2016) along the way. An occasional promoter, Nigel directed and modernised the Swanage Jazz Festival in 2018 and also ran Shepperton Jazz Club for two years. Nigel is a regular performer at London’s Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club where he has made more than 600 appearances.
LONDON INTERNATIONAL GUITAR SHOW 27th OCTOBER 2024
We are please to let you know that we will be exhibiting at the London International Guitar Show again. Now in its sixth year, the show (LIGS) will return to Kempton Park Racecourse on 27th October 2024. Free parking for all, good transport links including proximity to the motorways and even a railway station in the venue grounds. Doors 10:00 – 16:30. More information at www.guitarshows.co.uk<http://www.guitarshows.co.uk>
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