John Taylor, born 25 September 1942 in Greater Manchester, England, was a jazz pianist and composer. He moved to London in 1964 entered the scene. 1969 he gained attention through collaborations with saxophonists Alan Skidmore and John Surman. John Taylor’s debut as a solo pianist was Pause, and Think Again (1971), followed by Solo (1992), Insight (2003), Songs and Variations (2004), Phases (2009), Requiem for a Dreamer (2011) and In Two Minds (2014). Other releases as leader include Decipher (1973), Ambleside Days (1992), Overnight (2002), Rosslyn (2003), New Old Age (2005), Whirlpool (2007) and 2081 (2015). He formed the trio Azimuth with Norma Winstone and Kenny Wheeler in 1977, producing ECM recordings with Peter Erskine, Palle Danielsson, Kenny Wheeler and Jan Garbarek. He received the BBC Jazz Award in 2002 for The Green Man Suite. Taylor died on 17 July 2015 in Segré, France, after a heart attack performance. In 2026, the label Jazz in Britain released an unissued recording from 1987, Quintessence, with Stan Sulzmann and Rundfunkorchester Hannover des NDR.
