Check Out Alex Taylor’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Taylor.

Hi Alex, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up singing and playing music often, playing saxophone in school jazz band and with friends outside of school, and as a vocalist in church, school choir, and musical theater productions. I ended up pursuing a music degree at Dartmouth College, where I studied performance and composition, played in campus bands, and sang and toured regularly with an a cappella group, The Dartmouth Aires. After a stint on The Sing-Off in 2011, I lived a double life in San Francisco for much of my 20s and early 30s, working in education as a teacher and non-profit leader by day, while carving out opportunities to write and perform music whenever it would fit into the seams of my life.

A silver lining of the pandemic and becoming unceremoniously unemployed for a few months was that I recommitted myself to performing and writing music more regularly. In 2021, I made the decision to dedicate time and energy to studying music again more deeply, ultimately moving to Los Angeles in 2023 with my wife and daughter to pursue an MFA in jazz studies at CalArts. It was a big decision to leave a good music teaching job and make that leap of faith, and I’m incredibly grateful to my amazing wife, Anastassia, for how supportive she has been every step of the way.

Nowadays, I consider myself a teaching artist. I’m deeply committed to education, particularly providing accessible music programs to students of all backgrounds. To that end, I work with a number of performing arts organizations, including Jazz Empowers, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and Bloom Arts Foundation. This also gives me the flexibility to be writing, performing, and recording music much more regularly and pursuing other creative projects.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not, but it’s been an amazing journey! I was fortunate to have an amazing education in high school, college, and beyond, and I think many of my peers who followed more traditional or clearly defined career paths have probably looked on with some confusion (and might still…) as I’ve slowly found my way to my current career. As any artist and creative knows, it requires an incredible amount of self-belief and community support to weave a patchwork quilt career that is financially and emotionally sustainable. Some days are easier to believe in yourself than others, and it has been tempting to get a clock in/clock out style 9 to 5 job, but ultimately I wouldn’t be my best self if I did that. Coming around to this career slightly later in life has trade-offs… I sort of missed the phase where you can live in a house with seven roommates and crash on couches over a tour, and financial and time expectations to help provide for my family and be a role model for my daughter have changed the game. That being said, it’s also exciting to work towards career and family goals together! I look forward to planning more summer vacation tours with my wife and daughter, having sound check with toddlers running around, having more inspiration for writing, that sort of thing. Creating those memories together with my family is really motivating and exciting.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a performer and composer, I am particularly interested in creating music that blends the harmonic and rhythmic complexity of contemporary jazz with the approachability of soul, folk, and various world music traditions. I perform as both a saxophonist and vocalist, and much of my work brings together horns, acoustic instrumentation, and vocal harmonies. I’ve worked as a musical director in a number of contexts, including big band jazz, soul and funk music, a cappella, and musical theater, and I love working both as a leader and collaborator in large ensemble music.

In addition to my work as a performer, I am eager to bring my work as an educator and climate activist to the public, as well. I am currently developing “Sounds from Our Climate Future,” an interactive sound-based experience that integrates data from Climate Interactive’s En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator into a “choose your own adventure” style musical composition. Participants shape the composition by engaging with climate actions, transforming data into an emotional and immersive musical soundtrack of the year 2100. Using my artistry and educational background to promote climate action and social causes that are important to me is a crucial part of what I do, and integrates my skills as not only a musician, but as a communicator, educator, and organizational leader.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
In addition to my work with local performing arts organizations, I also I have a private studio of music students. I specialize in teaching improvisation, saxophone, voice, and songwriting, and I’m always eager to connect with new students of any age!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alextaylorjazz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alextaylorjazz/?hl=en
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alextaylorjazz/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/alextaylorjazz
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/alextaylorjazz

Image Credits
Brandi Rollins
Craig Allyn Cochrane
McLane Brown
Load Bearing Studios
Yasmine Cocotis