Melvin Taylor

Melvin Taylor on stage in Kiev, Ukraine

Melvin Taylor (born March 13, 1959, Jackson, Mississippi, United States)^[1] is an American electric blues guitarist, based in Chicago, Illinois.^[2]

Career

Born in Mississippi, Taylor relocated to Chicago in 1962.^[1]

In his adolescence, Taylor joined The Transistors, a band managed by his future father-in-law, playing popular music of the 1970s at talent shows and nightclubs. After the Transistors broke up in the early 1980s, Taylor devoted his attention to playing blues in the Chicago's West Side clubs.^[1]

During the 1980s he joined Pinetop Perkins and The Legendary Blues Band in a year long European tour, and since the late 1980s he has been making regular tours of Europe with his own group, where they have opened for B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Santana.

Taylor's recordings include two he first recorded for a French record label: Blues on the Run, originally recorded in 1982, and 1984's Plays the Blues for You. Back in the US, Taylor signed to Evidence Music and entered the studio with John Snyder to record Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band, which showcased his original songwriting. He returned in late 1996 to record his second US album, Dirty Pool. Taylor's debut remains the Evidence label's best-selling release.^[1]

Though his singing is relaxed, even sometimes conversational, his guitar improvisations have much of Jimi Hendrix's tightly curled strength.^[3]

He use to play regularly at Rosa's Lounge in Chicago.^[3] Taylor's most recent album, Beyond the Burning Guitar, was recorded in Misty Creek Studios in Fairfax, Virginia. He also recored a cover of the Eminem song, "Love The Way You Lie" with the rapper, Matt Christian, at Misty Creek Studios.

Discography

• Plays The Blues For You (1984)
• Blues On The Run (1994)
• Melvin Taylor and The Slack Band (1995)
• Dirty Pool (1997)
• Bang That Bell (2000)
• Rendezvous with the Blues (2002)
• Beyond the Burning Guitar (2010)

See also

• List of Contemporary blues musicians
• List of guitarists

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Allmusic biography - accessed December 2007
2. ^ Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 181. ISBN 1-904041-96-5. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 175. ISBN 1-85868-255-X. 

External links

• Melvin Taylor's official website
• Biography
• Rosa's Lounge
• New York Times Music Review

Persondata
Name	Taylor, Melvin
Alternative names
Short description	American electric blues guitarist]
Date of birth	March 13, 1959
Place of birth	Jackson, Mississippi, United States
Date of death
Place of death