“My drive comes from my subconscious plus I am a competitive person so I push hard to get my voice and music heard and to do significant work, and I want to leave a legacy.”

Otis Taylor: Trance Blues

Otis Taylor is a multi-instrumentalist whose talents include the guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, and vocals. In 2001, he was awarded a fellowship to the Sundance Film Composers Laboratory. Taylor was born in Chicago and moved at a young age to Denver, Colorado, where he grew up. He originally grew up playing the banjo, but his father wanted him to be a jazz musician. Upon hearing that the banjo was almost exclusively used for white bluegrass instrument in part through the derogatory black-face minstrel shows of the 19th century, Taylor dropped the banjo and began to focus solely on the guitar and harmonica. He played music professionally both in Europe and the United States in a variety of blues-oriented bands, including Zephyr, until 1977, when he left the music industry for other pursuits, including becoming an antique dealer.

(Otis Taylor / Photo © by Evan Semón)

Taylor returned to music in 1995, his music tends to focus on the hard realities of life, especially relating to the black community. Some common themes in his music are murder, racism, poverty and the need for redemption. Taylor has twelve Blues Music Awards nominations while “White African” (2001) was named 'Best Artist Debut'. “Banjo” (2023) was blues’ icon Otis Taylor’s 15th album. The music on Banjo is Otis Taylor at his best! This is a must-have masterpiece from one of the best blues musicians in the world.

Interview by Michael Limnios                   Special Thanks: Otis Taylor & Joe Kessler

What moment changed your music life the most?

Talking to James Guercio of Caribou Ranch. He also managed the band Chicago. He told me to keep my publishing (rights). No single moment had a big influence on my music. My tastes changed over time as I learned more and more and was exposed to more. It was all influential.

How do you describe your sound, music philosophy and songbook? Where does your creative drive come from?

Trance blues. My drive comes from my subconscious plus I am a competitive person so I push hard to get my voice and music heard and to do significant work, and I want to leave a legacy.

Are there any specific memories or highlights of your career that you would like to tell us about?!

Highlight was playing Monterey Jazz Festival where my father, who was a jazz fan, used to go. My father dies in 1973 and I didn’t come back to music till 1995-96. He never got to get to see me play. There are many more highlights and accolades as well.

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

When I was young, a lot of concerts were free like The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park. I saw Santana play for free at a park in San Francisco.

What is the impact of music on the socio-cultural implications? How do you want the music to affect people?                                  (Otis Taylor / Photo © by Evan Semón)

I write a lot of songs about history and let listeners decide what to think about them.

“No single moment had a big influence on my music. My tastes changed over time as I learned more and more and was exposed to more. It was all influential.“

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

Most important is people in the music business are usually only going to help you when you are at their level. It was meaningful for me when Gary Moore helped me.

How did the idea of “Writing The Blues” come about? Why is it important to preserve and spread the blues?

It was my wife Carol Taylor’s idea. It started at my kids’ school and spread from there. Kids can relate because everyone goes through some sadness. It gives people something we all have in common. The “Writing the Blues” workshop helps them express their emotions.

Life is more than just music, is there any other field that has influence on your life and music?

Being an art and antique dealer ever since I was 16 gives me knowledge about life, especially the 15 years working for US-based Greek-American art dealer James Economos.

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