The James Taylor Quartet - New World
(CD) Real Self Records RS5678, 2009-04-06

Tracklisting:
01. Blacksmith
02. Rochester Raining
03. Same Old Fool
04. New World
05. Inner Mystic Love
06. Stonemason
07. Get On Your Feet
08. Blue Lady
09. Hotwire
10. Jazz Café Theme
11. Milk And Honey

Links:
jtq.co.uk
myspace.com/jamestaylorquartet
kudosrecords.co.uk

Press Release :
James Taylor - one of the great instrumentalists of his generation - supplements his trademark howling Hammond sound with grand piano on his new album. New World features 11 original tunes by James (two co-written with guest vocalist Corina Greyson) and features John Parricelli (guitar), Andy McKinney (bass), Adam Betts (drums), Nick Smart (trumpet/flugelhorn), Gareth Lockrane (flutes), and the aforementioned Corina Greyson.

James explains how the album came about: 'A friend of mine, Sophie, loaned me her grand piano while she moved house. With it sat there in my living room I was inspired to write what is essentially a piano album, albeit accompanied by Fender Rhodes and Hammond. The focus is on presenting a variety of moods centred around the empathic sounds of piano, flute and flugelhorn, with a high degree of musicianship, using young players graduated from the Royal Academy and other London colleges. There is no doubt that London has never been so crowded with talented players, and this album represents a uniquely English musical heritage whilst drawing on a broad and eclectic set of keyboard influences from McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock through to Brian Auger, Les McCann and Ramsey Lewis. Recording the album - over three days - was a hugely enjoyable process; hopefully some of that pleasure is captured here'.

JTQ's fired-up signature tune, The Theme from Starsky and Hutch, cemented its reputation as master of the jazz-funk-r'n'b workout; 60s spy themes, psychedelic and free-form jazz all added something to the band's distinctive sound. Originally playing the Hammond B3 organ in the UK mod revival band The Prisoners, James Taylor formed his own quartet in 1985, and began playing music similar to the rare-groove jazz-funk then in vogue around London. By the early 90s, that movement had spawned acid jazz, and JTQ found itself at the forefront of a vibrant young club scene. The first single, Blow-Up, was released in 1985 on the Re Elect The President label, a precursor to Acid Jazz. The band's debut album, Mission Impossible, was released the following year, predominantly consisting of covers of 60s film themes such as Alfie, Mrs Robinson and Goldfinger. In the early 1990s, the single Love The Life reached the Top 40, and the accompanying album, Supernatural Feeling, settled in the Top 30 UK charts. After releases on Polydor and Big Life Records, JTQ returned to Acid Jazz, and In The Hand of The Inevitable remains the label's biggest selling album to date.

In 1997 James had the chance to fulfil a dream when he was asked to score the theme tune to Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, the spy spoof starring Mike Myers and Elizabeth Hurley. JTQ's Whole Lotta Live album was nominated for a MOBO award in 1998, and the following year James featured on Tom Jones' duets album, Reload. James' musical talent has been admired by numerous other acts: The Wonderstuff, Manic Street Preachers, The Pogues and U2 have all featured James and his distinctive Hammond sound on their albums.

JTQ's last release was May 2008's Live at The Jazz Cafe, London. Don't Mess With Mr T: James Taylor Quartet Plays Motown was released in September 2007 on Dome Records, featuring guest lead vocalists Omar, Hil St Soul, and Donna Gardier. 2007 also saw the release of Picking Up Where We Left Off by a new outfit, James Taylor's 4th Dimension; James Taylor Quartet was nominated in the Ronnie Scott's Jazz Awards the same year. JTQ's A Taste of Cherry was released in September 2006.