Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Sam Taylor was born on July 12, 1916 in Lexington, Tennessee. Playing tenor saxophone he attended Alabama State University and was a part of the Bama State Collegians. Picking up the moniker “The Man”,  Taylor would go on to work with Scatman Crothers, Cootie Williams, Lucky Millinder, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Buddy Johnson, Louis Jordan and Big Joe Turner.

He was one of the most requested session players in the New York recording studios in the 1950s and replaced Count Basie as the house bandleader on Alan Freed’s ‘Camel Rock ‘n Roll Dance Party’ radio series over CBS.

Venturing into rhythm and blues, Taylor’s saxophone solo appeared on Turner’s “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters “Money Honey” and “Sh-Boom” by The Chords. During the 1960s, Sam led a five-piece band called the Blues Chasers and in the 1970s frequently played and recorded in Japan.

Tenor saxophonist Sam “The Man” Taylor died on October 5, 1990 in Lexington, Kentucky. He left a discography of fifteen albums as a leader across the MGM, Moodsville, Decca, Pony Canyon, Epic and Japanese labels.

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