Melvin Taylor

by Richard SkellyChicago-based guitarist Melvin Taylor is a star in Europe, but it may take some time for U.S. audiences to catch on to just how phenomenally talented a bluesman he is. Part of the problem for Taylor may be his own natural eclecticism. Hes equally adept playing jazz or blues, but in the last few years, hes forged a name for himself as a blues guitarist with a slew of releases for Evidence Music. Taylor may well be the most talented new guitarist to come along since Stevie Ray Vaughan.Taylor was born in Mississippi but raised in Chicago after the family moved there in 1962. He learned guitar from his mothers brother, Uncle Floyd Vaughan, who jammed to tunes by Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed and Howlin Wolf with his buddies. By the time Taylor was 12, he was sitting in with his uncle and other grown-ups at those sessions. Almost entirely self-taught, the young Taylor learned slide playing, finger-picking and flat-picking styles from his favorite recordings by B.B. King, Albert King and Jimi Hendrix. In his teens, Taylor joined the Transistors, a group managed by his future father-in-law, and they made their mark playing popular music of the 1970s at talent shows and night clubs. After the Transistors broke up in the early 1980s, Taylor again devoted his full attention to playing blues in the Windy Citys West Side clubs. Shortly after, pianist Joe Willie Pinetop Perkins came looking for a guitarist for a string of European dates. Taylor joined the Legendary Blues Band for a year and made such an impact in Europe that several club and festival bookers wanted him back with his own group. Since the late 1980s, hes been making regular tours of Europe, often backed by former members of the Transistors, where they opened for the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Santana, George Benson and Canned Heat. Aside from taking his musical inspiration from guitar heroes like Albert King, B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Taylor also became enamored with the jazz stylings of George Benson and Wes Montgomery, incorporating their styles into his playing. Taylors recordings include two he first recorded for a French label that have seen been reissued on the Pennsylvania-based Evidence Music: Blues on the Run, originally recorded in 1982, and 1984s Melvin Taylor Plays the Blues for You. Back in the U.S., Taylor continued to build a buzz around the strength of his marathon live shows at Rosas Lounge and other venues in Chicago. Several small labels tried to sign Taylor, but they werent successful. In 1995, Taylor was signed to Evidence Music and entered the studio with blues impresario John Snyder to record his debut for the label, Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band, which showcased his original songwriting. He returned in late 1996 to record his second U.S. album, Dirty Pool. Taylors debut remains the Evidence labels best-selling release ever. Both records showcase Taylors awe-inspiring guitar playing and original renderings of classic Chicago blues tunes. Bang the Bell followed in 2000, featuring racy cover art and a somewhat funk-influenced sound, but it was his teaming with Lucky Peterson and Mato Nanji on 2002s Rendezvous with the Blues that cemented his reputation as a mainstay in the American blues and roots rock scene.