Otis Taylor

Otis Taylor has been pursuing his own singular musical vision—a fusion of the primal hum of raw, primitive blues and contemporary, free-ranging expressionism—since the 1960s, when the banjoist, guitarist, bassist and harmonica player first toured the U.S. and Europe with a variety of blues-based bands including Zephyr, for whom Taylor played bass, and G&O Short Line, which included legendary guitarist Tommy Bolin.

Taylor has received 16 Blues Music Award (BMA) nominations including a win for best debut album, nominated regularly as an instrumentalist for his banjo playing, and won a Blues Music Award for his original style in 2009, following the release of Recapturing the Banjo, an album that examined the instrument’s deep African roots. He also took Downbeat Magazine’s Critic’s Choice Award for Best Blues Album in 2003 and 2014 and won their annual Best Blues CD award in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Taylor has also been nominated two times for the prestigious Académie Charles Cros award in France, winning the Grand Prix du Disc for Blues in 2012.

In 2010 Taylor began his Trance Blues Festival in Boulder. The annual event brings a broad cast of professional and amateur musicians together for three days of performances, jams and workshops. This year’s Trance Blues Festival will be held at the eTown Theater in Boulder in November.