MARTIN TAYLOR IS the most successful jazz guitarist the UK has ever produced – not without good reason too, as he is an absolute monster player! Whereas most musicians would content themselves with one speciality, over Martin’s extensive and fruitful career he has proved himself to be equally successful in a huge array of settings. Whether it be ensemble or solo, accompanist or band leader, Martin’s staggering technical mastery and innate stylistic understanding allows him to
deal with the unique challenges presented by such contrasting performance situations and yet always sound like one the best players in the world, no matter what!
This month’s track comes from Martin’s Spirit Of Django period, recorded in 1994, also featuring the amazing saxophonist Dave O’Higgins. GTtrivia buffs may also be interested to know that the bassist on these sessions and the subsequent live dates was the wonderful Terry Gregory, also a regular in Shaun Baxter’s band and showcased beautifully on Shaun’s album Jazz Metal.
Django has been an ever-present influence
in Taylor’s life, from his earliest exposure to this style by his father, the bassist William ‘Buck’ Taylor, who frequently performed Django’s material, to the decade or so that Martin spent as ‘solo guitare’ in Stephane Grappelli’s later-era, all-string ensemble. Martin is welcomed with open arms by both Django’s family and the gypsy community as a whole, performing regularly with Bireli Lagrene and recently with Django’s own grandson, David Reinhardt.
Even if you’ve not got a single jazz CD at home, if you’re above a certain age (the age to actually have CDs probably!) I’m sure that you’ll recognise this month’s track. That’s because it was used on heavy rotation throughout the mid-’9OS to advertise a certain brand of French automobile. Come to think of it, I used to have one of those; such is the subliminal power of suggestion! However, things almost turned out very differently, as in Martin’s own words, “It nearly didn’t make it on to the album. I didn’t think it was as strong as the rest of the material!” Fortunately
Johnny And Mary was given a last minute reprieve, contributing massively to the album’s popularity and the project overall.
Whilst I’d urge you to consider the benefits of learning the track as a whole, this should realistically be treated as a mid to long-term project. It’s also a really good idea to take one four-bar phrase in isolation and establish the function of each and every note. Ask yourself which notes coincide with the underlying chords, which are extensions and which can be viewed as chromatic passing tones (see Technique Focus). The trick to really mastering this area is to not underestimate or overlook the detail and make sure you can really hear the quality of each note. Your soloing vocabulary, like any other kind of vocabulary, will take time to develop so be patient and methodical. What you’ve also got is a long extended backing track to try out your own soloing ideas, so get stuck in!