Fiona Apple, Louis Armstrong, J.S. Bach, Bela Bartok, Count Basie Band, Beatles, Jon Brion, Clifford Brown, Don Cherry, Daniel Clarke, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, John D'earth, Claude Debussy, Dave Douglas, Duke Ellington, Glenn Gould, Hakan Hardenberger, Tom Harrell, Keith Jarrett, Brian Jones, Witold Lutoslawski, Wynton Marsalis, W. A. Mozart, Randy Newman, Charlie Parker, Radiohead, Maurice Ravel, Rex Richardson, Doug Richards, Stephen Sondheim, Igor Stravinsky, James Taylor, Kenny Wheeler, Cootie Williams, John Zorn.
Taylor Barnett is a trumpeter, teacher, and composer/arranger living in Richmond, Virginia. In 2001 he was awarded First Place in the Jazz Division of the National Trumpet competition. He has performed with the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, and with artists such as Gladys Knight, The Temptations, Steve Wilson, Ray Anderson, John D'earth, Frankie Avalon, and Rene Marie. His compositions have been commissioned by trumpeter Rex Richardson for performances at international music festivals in Australia and the U.S. Taylor also plays trumpet in the Steve Kessler Quartet, No B.S. Brass Band, Devil's Workshop, and leads his own jazz trio and quartet. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies and a Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University.
From 2004-2006, Taylor was the director of the instrumental music program at the Maggie L. Walker Governor's School, a full-time high school for gifted students. There he taught and developed the curriculum for two jazz ensembles, jazz improvisation, string orchestra, and music theory. At Maggie Walker, Taylor began a program of guest artists with a focus on avante-garde and free-jazz. There his students received clinics and played with artists such as Ken Vandermark Trio, Jim Black, Andrew D'Angelo, Hilmar Jensson, and Joe Morris. He is currently an adjunct professor at VCU directing the Jazz Orchestra II, teaching theory/aural skills classes, teaching in the applied trumpet studio, and teaching jazz history.
In 2007 he formed the Taylor Barnett 10-tet, an ensemble that plays his original compositions and arrangements of jazz, classical, blues, and pop. Taylor's self-produced debut album, For Someone is now available.
TayBar! Lovin the CD, really quite awesome. Favorites are Mikrokosmos #75, What Do You Think Of Me?, and of course, Esthers Dance. Hope life is treating you great and we will see you at a no bs show (or the next time the ten-tet plays - hint, hint)
Dude, Congrats on fatherhood. Thank you for taking on the responsibility of raising a thoughtful caring and intelligent being to help this human race in the next generation. We need all that we can get. You are the man.
Been a minute, Taylor, hope things are going well! Try to come check us out, the band's grown a bit since we played at the Roxy for the art show. Take care, peace Dave K
