Paul Taylor is an American alto and soprano saxophonist. His reedy tone and warm, bright sound frame dynamic, danceable grooves and intricate pop shot through with electronica. He has been leading his own dates since 1995's On the Horn. 2000's Undercover spent 28 weeks on the Contemporary Jazz charts. 2007's chart-topper Ladies Choice crossed over to R&B thanks to hit singles "I Want to Be Loved by You" (feat. LaToya London) and "How Did You Know" (feat. Regina Belle). Taylor played sold-out houses on the Gentlemen of the Night tours with fellow saxophonists Marion Meadows, Michael Lington, and Warren Hill. Taylor's skillful collaborations with vocalists include charting appearances with Maxi Priest and Peabo Bryson. 2014's Tenacity also crossed over thanks to its first single, "Supernova" (feat. Jonathan Fritzen). 2021's And Now This was constructed from digital files exchanged between Taylor and longtime producer Dino Esposito during the pandemic; their goal was to create a beat-conscious set of club tracks and radio singles. The latter included "Ride It," sung by All-4-One vocalist Jamie Jones.

Taylor was raised in Denver. He took up the alto saxophone at the age of seven. He played in school bands, and in high school joined a Top 40 band called Mixed Company where he picked up the soprano horn as well. He attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on a full music scholarship. After graduating, jazz keyboardist Keiko Matsui and her producer husband Kazu Matsui, discovered him playing a gig at the Catalina Island Jazz Festival and hired him to back her on the spot. He spent two years with her road band before Kazu produced his 1995 debut solo album, On the Horn; it reached the jazz charts and spawned a radio hit in "Til We Meet Again." Taylor worked with Keiko in the studio on 1995's chart-topping Sapphire, 1996's Dream Walk, and 1998's Full Moon and the Shrine, and remained a guest with her studio band through 2009's Moyo (Heart and Soul). Simultaneously, the saxist worked the road and in the studio with Casiopea drummer Akira Jimbo. He appeared on 1996's Flower and 1997's Stone Butterfly. Pleasure Seeker, Taylor's second solo album, followed in 1997 and was equally successful.

In 1999 he appeared on the Rippingtons' Topaz. He released his third album, Undercover, on Peak/N-Coded Music in February 2000 and toured as a special guest soloist with the Rippingtons. Subsequent albums Hypnotic (2001), Steppin' Out (2003), Nightlife (2005), and Ladies' Choice (2007), were all issued by Peak Records and registered high on the contemporary jazz charts -- Ladies' Choice went all the way to number one, crossed over to R&B, and landed well inside the Top 30. The album remained on the charts for 29 weeks. That year, Taylor played soprano on "I Try," the Top Ten single from Peabo Bryson's Missing You.

Peak released Taylor's eighth album, Burnin', in 2009. It spent 38 weeks on the smooth jazz charts and also peaked at number one. Two years later, Taylor returned with Prime Time; it went to number three on the contemporary jazz charts. In 2014, Taylor released Tenacity. With guest appearances from Jeff Lorber and vocalist Jonathan Fritzen, it too peaked at three, while spending 20 weeks on the jazz charts. In 2015, Taylor returned to working with Jimbo in the studio and on the road; he played alto and soprano on the drummer's acclaimed Groove of Life. Taylor's 2016 release Countdown cracked the Top Ten at jazz albums.

After a long period of global touring with Jimbo, Matsui, and on his own, Taylor got an unintentionally extended break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the year he began trading digital files with Esposito, consciously crafting an album aimed at global dancefloors. In November 2021, And Now This appeared from Peak with its first single, "Ride It, sung by All-4-One's Jamie Jones. Later that month, Taylor enlisted Twitch streaming host OriginalSnow to duet with him on the funky non-album single "Share It with You." ~ William Ruhlmann & Thom Jurek, Rovi