Otis Taylor (musician)
| Otis Taylor | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Otis Taylor |
| Born |
July 30, 1948 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Blues, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica |
| Years active | pre-1977, 1995–present |
| Labels | Telarc International Corporation, NorthernBlues Music, Shoelace Music |
| Associated acts | Gary Moore, Anne Harris (musician), Jason Moran, Chuck Campbell, Ron Miles, Mato Nanji |
| Website | Otistaylor.com |
| Notable instruments | |
| Ome banjo and Blue Star electric Banjoblaster, Santa Cruz acoustic Guitar and various electric guitars, Harmonica | |
Otis Taylor (born July 30, 1948,Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American blues musician. He 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 originally an African instrument turned almost exclusively into a 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.
Taylor returned to music in 1995, and as of 2015, has released fourteen blues albums. 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. To date, Taylor has twelve Blues Music Awards nominations while White African was named 'Best Artist Debut'.
Down Beat magazine critics' Poll named Taylor's Truth is Not Fiction as Blues CD of the Year for 2002.
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