Saxophonist Louis Van Taylor to headline Pierce Street Jazz

  School of Business   Arts+Culture  

Noted studio and stage saxophonist Louis Van Taylor, whose skills run the gamut of woodwind instruments, will serve as this month’s headline artist for La Sierra University’s Pierce Street Jazz series.

Woodwind musician Louis Van Taylor, longtime performer with Kool & The Gang and other top acts, will bring his talent to La Sierra University.
Woodwind musician Louis Van Taylor, longtime performer with Kool & The Gang and other top acts, will bring his talent to La Sierra University.

Taylor’s work with various types of saxophone, piccolo, flute, clarinet and other instruments can be heard on numerous television and movie soundtracks. His credits include performances with a long list of famous acts including Kool & The Gang, The Gap Band, Jimmy Smith, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Gerald Wilson, Kenny Burrell, Mariah Carey, and many others, as well as a 20-year association with jazz and blues legend Ray Charles.

Taylor continues to tour and perform with Kool & The Gang as well as the Gerald Wilson Orchestra. This year he toured the South of France as a featured soloist with Kool & The Gang, and in July performed with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra for the Central Avenue Jazz Festival in Los Angeles.

Taylor will perform at La Sierra on Wed., Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. accompanied by industry pros Henry “the Skipper” Franklin, bass, Theo Saunders, piano, and Ramon Banda, drums.

Taylor, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, began his foray into the world of music when his family moved to Los Angeles where he began learning the clarinet in junior high school. He later became interested in the tenor saxophone and over time, developed a high level of skill with all types of saxophones and other woodwind instruments. His musical style melds traditional jazz with a variety of genre including Brazilian, Afro-Caribbean, funk and blues.

Taylor’s sound track credits include work on such films as “The Nutty Professor,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Coneheads” and others, as well as work on many television shows including “Night Court,” “Full House,” “Touched by an Angel,” and “Seinfeld.”

In addition to his performance career, Taylor taught for seven years at the U.S.C. Thornton School of Music and for 12 years with the Los Angeles Jazz Society Jazz in Schools program.

Pierce Street Jazz concerts are held at the Troesh Conference Center, Zapara School of Business. Admission is free. For further information call 951-785-2148. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, Calif., 92515.

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