Interview by Shannon West

It's hard to believe that it has been over 10 years since Paul Taylor's debut, On the Horn, caught the attention of smooth jazz fans and media people. We knew there was something special going on, that this was an artist who was going to be around for a long time. In an industry that has been through as many changes as the music business has over the last decade, especially in terms of smooth jazz, he has been a survivor, consistently delivering radio hits, chart topping CDs, and always growing and evolving musically. His new release, Nightlife, has been an out-of-the box success at radio and retail, even getting complimentary reviews from critics who don't usually have anything nice to say about smooth jazz.  

Smooth Views (SV): Congratulations on the success you're having with Nightlife. How did it feel to debut at #2 on the Billboard contemporary jazz chart?
Paul Taylor (PT): It felt wonderful! My year has already been made with a debut at #2, so I'm looking forward to a really great year.

SV: It's rare for an artist without a crossover profile to debut that high. Any thoughts on how it happened?
PT: It's so amazing that it happened the first week. I'm guessing that the buzz got out ahead of time thanks to people at the website, and of course the people at the record label and promotions getting the word out. This is the sixth time doing this so hopefully word-of-mouth got out through all the avenues, the media and the fans.

SV: You referred to this project as a clean slate. What did you mean by that?
PT: Once I decided on the people I'm going to work with and actually started working with them on the music, playing on some loops and grooves, I went in with a clean slate. I didn't bring any of my own grooves or demos I had already made and say, “Let's work on this from point B on.” We started everything from the beginning and did it all right there in the studio.

SV: Is this the first time you've come in like that?
PT: I did have one idea on Steppin' Out but, other than that, it was pretty much the same thing. I just went in and took each song on its own terms on that day with the producer right in the studio.  

SV: Isn't it scary to go into the studio like that without having everything laid out?
PT: It is kinda scary, but I'm used to working like that. You have to have a lot of melodies going on and I can work off the top of my head in the studio so it's not really as daunting with me as it might be with someone who was uncomfortable with [not] having material already prepared. In the way I'm working it's like a true collaboration. I just come in fresh and start working. That's it!

SV: So the producer has a big part in the process with your recordings?
PT: Most definitely. When we first start he might have a couple of tracks already pre-done without a melody of course, and he'll play those and depending on how they affect me I'll say yes or no. If I'm hearing something then, we can work on that first. We go into the studio, do a couple of run-throughs, and if we get something going, and I hear a good hook I check that out and go for a verse. Then we go from there and take off running.

SV: Given that and the multitude of producers that you've worked with, there has been a consistent Paul Taylor sound. Not like you make everything sound just alike, but there are certain melodic themes and nuances that are ongoing and the producers seem to bring that out in the process rather than you coming in and imposing it on the project. Is that just the chemistry between you and the people who produce your music?
PT: I think it is because I don't go in saying I'm going to get my signature licks in and all this. It just happens that's the way I've been playing. I try to keep my own style going, but the chemistry happens in the studio and it has the Paul Taylor sound when it's done.

SV: Rex Rideout, who has worked with a lot of big name artists and had a lot of hits, said in an interview that you guys had immediate chemistry when you hooked up for the Steppin' Out sessions. He has kind of a signature sound too, but you guys seemed to bring out some different things in each other.
PT: He's a wonderful producer, very easy to work with. Rex has his sound too, but I think one of the great things about Rex's production and his work is that it doesn't get in the way of the artist. When I work with Rex I hear my sound coming through. I don't hear Rex's sound trying to cover it up. The artists' sound comes through and he compliments it with his tracks. It all comes together for a great song.

SV: Barry Eastmond is usually associated with ballads and “lights down low” type songs, but your collaborations with him brought out a different side of his songwriting and production too.
PT: Absolutely, I feel the same way. Barry has done all these R&B artists like Freddie Jackson and Billy Ocean who do a lot of ballads, but when we get together we just kinda flip it and I seem to bring out some different stuff with him as well.

SV: The other thing is you are a strong songwriter. How do you keep coming up with hit songs that are melodic and catchy and don't sound alike in an industry climate where it is hard for an artist to keep charting early and going to the top.
PT: The beauty of it is I don't know how or why. I'm just grateful that the magic happens each time, that I'm working with talented people, and that I have the talent too so we can come together and make great music on a consistent basis. I wasn't really aware of that until a few albums ago and I just try to keep it goin'.

SV: You said that the key to making a great CD is to find the balance between melodies that people can latch on to and the desire to produce cutting edge or more innovative music. How do you accomplish that, especially in a climate where there is an inclination to stay the same and play it safe when what you are doing is working so well?
PT: I try to do that in the writing process. When I get together with a songwriter or producer and we are fleshing things out I just go with how I feel at the moment. I just follow my instincts and so far they haven't been too bad as far as picking songs to work on. If it doesn't feel right or natural we go on to something else.

SV: Dino Esposito has been a consistent thread in your musical career and one of the things that sets you apart is having this consistent input from somebody who does have a pop sensibility. How did you two hook up?
PT: We hooked up in Las Vegas after I moved here. I was a year out of college and he was still in school. A common friend said I should meet him. I was doing a club gig and my friend had him come down and see us. From there we kept the friendship going. We always kept in contact and I always knew we had a musical bond. Later on we started doing demos together. Dino was going for his record deal on the pop side and things happened quicker for him. When he did get signed I played in his band on some tracks and when he was opening for New Kids on the Block in the ‘80s. At the time I was trying to do my own records and get signed too, so we would always do demos and try to write the right kind of sound for me. Back then we didn't really know how to approach it. I was still trying to find myself and my sound. We kept trying different things and when I got signed I wanted to have Dino work on some of my first album. Kazu Matsui worked on most of it but I wanted to bring Dino in because we were friends and he had me on his stuff. From there it was the chemistry, a friendship and a sound and we carried on.

SV: Before you started recording you played a lot of different types of music in a lot of situations. How did you end up gravitating toward smooth jazz rather than going for the pop star thing yourself?
PT: My dream was to be an instrumental star in my own right. I saw people I wanted to be like, like Grover Washington Jr. Getting to that point and finding out that vocal music is the king as far as the pop scene, I knew that doing instrumental music wasn't going to be as popular, but that's what I do best. So I had to put my eggs in one basket, and I am an instrumentalist.

SV: How long did you have to stay “undercover” with this before you got some visibility working with Lorber and Keiko Matsui?
PT: A good 10-15 years. Overnight success right??

SV: It does appear that way since you put out your first CD and immediately had a #1 song...
PT: Most people don't know that there was a bunch of time before that. A lot of dues to pay.

SV: How did you hang in there and stay committed to doing Smooth Jazz?
PT: Just hard work and perseverance. When people ask me what can you say to people who want to get in the business the best thing I can say is don't give up, and I never gave up.

SV: How did you end up crossing that bridge from paying dues to launching your solo career?
PT: It was probably playing with Lorber at Catalina. Then Keiko Matsui saw me. Then a year-and-a-half later playing with Keiko. Also, I played at this private function for distributors and label reps where people saw me and started saying I was someone who should be signed. That kind of got me to the next level in the music industry.

SV: Your first high profile gigs were with Jeff Lorber and Keiko Matsui? They are both such accomplished musicians and they have totally different sounds. How did you handle that?
PT: I think Kazu (Matsui) and Keiko must have seen something during the songs with Jeff where I played soprano because it's more delicate. I think they saw that and felt like I would be a good fit in their band. It was a great fit. I got a lot of the gentle nuances playing in Keiko's band.

SV: Lorber's sound is nuanced in a different way and you don't really hear a lot of gentle stuff in his work. Was that a real mood swing for you?
PT: Jeff was a big idol for me, so playing with him was another milestone. I was just taking it all in.

SV: You went in with Kazu Matsui, who outside of working with Keiko, wasn't really an established Contemporary Jazz producer? But that CD was one strong piece of songwriting after another and the diversity on it was incredible, especially for a debut. What was that process like?
PT: It was wonderful. You never forget your first time doing something. I remember all the things coming together about it. Working with Kazu, and Keiko played on some of the songs as well. I knew I was with some good people and I was able to bring Dino in as well. You want to get all your best stuff in, all the best songs I had written and done demos for up to that point. You want to get it all on your first album because you never know if there will be another one. I was just counting my blessings and putting my best stuff forward.

SV: Pleasure Seeker, the follow-up, was totally different and what we didn't know then is that it was way ahead of the curve because it had a real ambient chill overtone years before this became trendy for smooth jazz. Was this change intentional or a natural thing that evolved from the process of you and Dino working together?
PT: After the success we had with “Till We Meet Again” going #1, which was a slower song, and then "Exotica," which I did with Dino, was also a big hit I knew we had something going with that sound. We wanted to go in the direction we were having success with.

SV: Over the years you have been more accessible and interactive than most artists, and even as one of our stars you've been approachable to your fans after concerts, and continued to communicate with your online fan community. A lot of artists have put more distance between themselves and fans in cyberspace because they are busy or because it is a risk to be that accessible. Why have you been willing to continue that?
PT: I do that because I want to embrace the people who listen to my music and I am really appreciative of being on this level. I'm not taking it for granted, so when they come to tell me how the music affects them or how they are buying the CDs, I want to give an open ear to that. Sometimes when you are on the road, you only have a small time window for meeting people but whenever I can I try to be accessible because that's your fan base.

SV: It seems like everybody who plays this kind of music goes through periods where because of industry changes they end up on a hiatus that may not be voluntary. Yours was between Pleasure Seeker and Undercover.
PT: There was an unplanned hiatus between those two albums. I was gearing up for the next record while some things were changing with the label and nobody wins because you're not putting any music out. I hate for anyone to be in that situation, but it happens. You just have to hope you have good people around you taking care of the business side of things so you can get through that and get to the next stage of your career.

SV: When you are going through that, how do you stay in the mindset to create wonderful music and go out and perform when you don't know exactly how or when it's going to get out there?
PT: I think you just have to go out on blind faith and keep the mindset that this is temporary, that I'm going to move on to my next phase and keep recording no matter what and just keep my eye on the prize. In the meantime you just have to stay positive and write your music, keep it going, and hope for the best. When I did get the new deal with NCoded/Peak, we were able to keep the ball rolling. I worked with a bunch of producers, we pieced it together and “Avenue” (the first single) was a big hit.

SV: You got to work with Maurice White on Undercover. How did that come about and what was it like?
PT: It came about through my manager. She gave me some options to go with as far as names and when she said how about working with Maurice White, of course I said “yes!” I met with him and we started working together in the studio. I was kind of star-struck because Earth, Wind and Fire is one of my favorite groups and I've seen him perform with them. When you're sitting next to him writing music it's kind of overwhelming because of all that he's done, but when I started to get over the star-struck thing we were able to make some great music. It was wonderful working with him.

SV: Then on Hypnotic you brought in Jeff Lorber and the CD had a totally different sound.
PT: I wanted to bring someone new into the fold to keep things fresh so we decided to work with Jeff Lorber on the lion's share on that record. It was kinda like coming full circle with Jeff because I had worked with him before.

SV: On Steppin' Out there was more of a foreground, more powerful thing going on. You worked on two coasts with two producers and it still sounds consistent. How did that happen?
PT: I think it's a case of being true to yourself and going for the tracks you really want to work on. I do that with whoever I work with. My sax and the songwriting are going to be the common denominator.

SV: While you were doing your solo CDs and working with all these high profile musicians and producers, you also have been a part of some superstar groups. The Rippingtons had a consistent lineup for a long time, then they had some personnel changes and you were one of the first “newbies” to go out with them at a time when fans were being really outspoken about clinging to their old sound and previous lineup and treating the new musicians like interlopers. What was that like for you?
PT: That was an interesting period because I was reading the online bulletin boards and I got kind of a cold reception...

SV: You were the first new guy out, and you were great but different, as anyone new was going to be.
PT: I was trying to fit in and help out any way I can and some people weren't really feeling it. In some ways I couldn't do right but after a while I just had to get those thoughts out of my mind, put blinders on and go straightforward. It was different for me to work with a group after being solo for so long and I did have to adapt to that. I knew I was stepping in to a big situation and I was going in headfirst.

SV: How did you hook up with Groovin' for Grover? In terms of the other people in that group, you were the “new kid.” How did you get to be the third sax in that group?
PT: I'm not really sure how my name came up. I‘m pretty easy to get along with and maybe the combination of that and the success I had caught somebody's attention. When they contacted my manager and said I was requested to do this tour I said “Sure!!”

SV: How did you select the Grover songs you were going to do? Some of the guys had been involved in the Grover tribute CD, but you weren't. So how did you pick the song that was so perfect for you?
PT: Jeff Lorber was the Music Director for the tour and we just e-mailed each other and started bringing up titles. Through kicking around ideas and trial and error we came up with the songs. We got to do a couple of songs of our own, too. I was going to pick one of my current singles, but Jeff (Lorber) said he wasn't going to do one of his hit singles and maybe I should think beyond that, too. So I picked an album cut, “Runaway” and “Steppin' Out,” which was a single.

SV: For a part of that time you were in the studio with the new CD, which has a lot more alto and is the first time I've ever heard you do something bluesy. Do you think touring with Richard Elliot and Gerald Albright was pulling you in that direction or was that more intuitive?
PT: That could have played into it but I definitely wanted to try some new stuff like the bluesy one. I wanted the sound to have more meat on it, which the alto does. So I knew I wanted to accomplish that going into the new CD.

SV: There are two songs on the new CD that are ahead of their time and show some vision about a direction the genre could go towards, kind of like the songs on Pleasure Seeker did at the time that CD came out. “Things Left Unsaid” and “Don't Wait Up” have this electronica upbeat groove going, but are centered in live musicians playing structured songs with strong melodies. With everyone else gravitating toward chill, how did you and Dino come up with this sound?
PT: We were working at Dino's home studio, and like I've done a lot of times before, we were going over some chord changes and loops and wanted to get the dance club groove. That was one of the “open slate” things I wanted to have when we started working on Nightlife. I wanted the meatier sound and some more upbeat stuff too.

SV: In the early part of your career you have been defined by the “S” words: Sexy, Sultry, Sensual and such, but you are starting to grow beyond that and become a truly versatile artist, which is wonderful. Do you feel like that is a growth thing?
PT: I don't want to stay in that kind of ball game, it's a part of what I do, but I don't want to be limited to that. I'm in my 40s and you can't be all that sexy and sensual forever.

SV: Wanna bet????

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