Paul Taylor - Hypnotic (2001)

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Paul Taylor - Hypnotic (2001)

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On his fourth album, Paul Taylor calls upon five different producers: Dino Esposito, Kurt Jackson, Mathew Edralin, Jeff Lorber, and Oji Pierce. The function of these musicians for the most part is to create largely synthesized backgrounds for the soprano saxophonist to solo over in his familiar, melodic manner. Esposito handles the title song and "Flight 808," the first two tracks; Jackson does "PT Cruiser" (with Edralin) and "Sunshine" (on which he sings some bland romantic lyrics); Lorber is responsible for "Tuesday Afternoon," "Pendulum," "Come Over," "Free Fall," and "Palisades"; and Pierce is behind the board for "Dream State" and "Summer Park." Real guitars and percussion are included in the mix here and there, but the sound of the background music remains relatively anonymous, its purpose to provide a rhythmic underpinning and a little color. What matters is the saxophone, or rather the sax harmonies and sax arrangements for which Taylor credits himself on each track, which means that he frequently overdubs saxophone parts to create unison effects. His style is virtually indistinguishable from that of Kenny G, George Howard, or other less-well-known soprano sax practitioners, and the compositions, which usually fade out after four-plus minutes without reaching any climaxes or coming to any real conclusions, are just settings for his melodic musings. It's all pleasant enough, and any track will fit unobtrusively into a smooth jazz radio format, but there's nothing memorable here.

~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

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Paul Taylor - Hypnotic (2001)

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Paul Taylor:

Born: 1972, Denver, CO
Active: 2000s
Genres: Jazz
Instrument: Sax (Soprano), Sax (Alto), Keyboards
Representative Albums: "Greatest Hits", "Legends, Vol. 2: Jazz"
Representative Songs: "Avenue", "Pleasure Seeker", "Exotica"

Paul Taylor grew up in Denver, where he took up the saxophone at the age of seven. He played in school bands, and in high school joined a Top 40 band called Mixed Company. Jazz keyboardist Keiko Matsui and her husband, producer Kazu Matsui, discovered him playing at the Catalina Island Jazz Festival and hired him to play in their band. He spent two years with them, and then Kazu Matsui produced his 1995 debut album, On the Horn, which reached the jazz charts and spawned a radio hit in "Til We Meet Again." Pleasure Seeker, his second album, followed in 1997 and was equally successful. Taylor released his third album, Undercover, on Peak/N-Coded Music in February 2000. Also in 2000, he toured as a special guest artist with the Rippingtons. Subsequent albums Hypnotic (2001), Steppin' Out (2003), Nightlife (2005), and Ladies' Choice (2007), all issued by Peak Records, figured high in the contemporary jazz charts, with Ladies' Choice going all the way to number one. Peak released Taylor's eighth album, Burnin', in 2009.

~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi

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Paul Taylor - Hypnotic (2001)

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Paul Taylor - Hypnotic (2001)

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