Taylor, Mark

Primary Scene: Brooklyn/New York (2007-17)

Composer/bandleader Mark Taylor has been commissioned to compose for theatre, dance, and the concert stage. In addition to several new chamber works, including “3 Songs About Puppetry” (commissioned by John A. Putnam, principal Hornist of the Michigan Symphony), Mark has just written and recorded the score for “Last Days of Coney Island”, a new animated film by famed animator/director Ralph Bakshi, placed two songs in the Dollface Productions independent feature film “The Girl” and scored the documentaries “9/11 Fear In Silence” for JadeFilms and Camille Billops’ “A String of Pearls”.

Other recent projects include “It’s Not Like He’s Never Been There Before”, a multi-movement orchestral work, commissioned by Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Foundation and premiered by the Tri-Centric Orchestra in New York City in the Fall of 2013, and a series of transcriptions of the work of seminal jazz bandleader James Reese Europe’s 369th “Hellfighters” military band for the Brooklyn Repertory Ensemble. Mark has released four CDs of all original material, QuietLand, Circle Squared, At What Age and Live At The Freight (co-led with composer/saxophonist Jessica Jones).

One of the few performers to successfully integrate the notoriously difficult French Horn into the landscape of jazz and improvised music, Taylor’s broad musical background includes performing, composing and arranging.

In addition to leading his own ensembles, Mark has also performed and recorded with an array of modern jazz giants including: Max Roach, Henry Threadgill, Wadada Leo Smith, Muhal Richard Abrams and Anthony Braxton.