Gene Taylor

A solid and supremely swinging bassist, Gene Taylor was a key member of pianist *Horace Silver's* classic and highly influential quintet from 1958 to 1963. His reliable timekeeping and big, resonant tone were the foundation for landmark #Blue Note Records# hard bop albums like 'Finger Poppin'', 'Blowin' the Blues Away', and 'The Tokyo Blues'. After his tenure with Silver, Taylor joined the *Blue Mitchell* Quintet and later toured and recorded extensively with *Nina Simone*, for whom he composed the tribute "Why? (The King of Love Is Dead)". An anchor of the hard bop movement, his foundational groove supported some of the genre's most memorable recordings.