Craig Marvin Taborn (; born February 20, 1970) is an American pianist, organist, keyboardist and composer. He works solo and in bands, mostly playing various forms of jazz. He started playing piano and Moog synthesizer as an adolescent and was influenced at an early stage by a wide range of music, including by the freedom expressed in recordings of free jazz and contemporary classical music.
While at university, Taborn toured and recorded with jazz saxophonist James Carter. Taborn went on to play with numerous other musicians in electronic and acoustic settings, while also building a reputation as a solo pianist. He has a range of styles, and often adapts his playing to the nature of the instrument and the sounds that he can make it produce. His improvising, particularly for solo piano, often adopts a modular approach, in which he begins with small units of melody and rhythm and then develops them into larger forms and structures.
In 2011, Down Beat magazine chose Taborn as winner of the electric keyboard category, as well as rising star in both the piano and organ categories. By the end of 2020, Taborn had appeared on 14 albums as a leader or co-leader and more than 100 as a sideman.
Early life Taborn was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota,Kennedy, Gary W. "Taborn, Craig (Marvin)" The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (2nd ed.) (online) to John, a psychologist, and Marjorie, a social worker. His father was a department chair at the University of Minnesota and his mother worked for Minneapolis public schools. Taborn's older brother, John Gregory, became a psychologist. They grew up in Golden Valley, Minnesota, where Craig Taborn attended Breck School. His parents gave him a Moog synthesizer as a present when he was 12,Espeland, Pamela (February 1, 2008) "Keyboardist Craig Taborn Surfaces with Underground". MinnPost.DiPietro, Phil (May 2, 2003) "Craig Taborn: Suggesting Textural Dimension". All About Jazz. which was also around the time when he started playing piano. He received basic instruction initially from his father, who played by ear. Taborn borrowed records from a public library and listened to public radio, discovering music from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and Sun Ra, among others. As a youth he also listened to heavy metal and contemporary classical music, and identified commonalities among these disparate forms of music.
At high school, Taborn studied music theory and composition for two years with teachers who had doctorates in music."New York Jazz Pianist Craig Taborn Talks to Chicago's Rob Clearfield". (September 8, 2011) Chicago Reader. In his own words, he is "not a classically trained pianist at all"; he practiced with others, initially playing rock, progressive rock, and jazz fusion, before becoming more interested in jazz.Robson, Britt (April 25, 2013) "Pianist Craig Taborn Returns to Walker Art Center, His Inspiration Point". Star Tribune. He borrowed from the library Segments II (Orchestra Of Two Continents) by pianist Cecil Taylor's band while at high school, but found separating the various elements of the music too difficult. After attending a Last Exit concert (a loud free jazz band of Peter Brötzmann, Bill Laswell, Ronald Shannon Jackson and Sonny Sharrock), he went home and listened to the Taylor album again: "It was more manageable in terms of being able to hear detail and listen to content. That was a big moment in terms of being able to relax and process information in more abstract environments."Doerschuk, Bob (August 2011) "Craig Taborn: Illuminating Ideas". Down Beat. 78 (8). p. 42.
Later life and career
1988–1999 Taborn studied at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from 1988.Shteamer, Hank (April 2, 2011) "Heavy Metal Be-Bop #2: Interview with Craig Taborn". Invisible Oranges. He auditioned for the jazz program in the university's School of Music, but joined the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Taborn met drummer Gerald Cleaver soon after arriving at university, and they established an electronic group, the Tracey Science Quartet. Taborn also played with Marcus Belgrave and Wendell Harrison. While still a university student, he became known for his membership of saxophonist James Carter's band,Layne, Joslyn "Craig Taborn: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved December 21, 2014. where he contributed to a series of albums, beginning with JC on the Set, which was recorded in 1993.Cook, Richard and Morton, Brian (2008) The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 232. .
Taborn's first recording as leader came in 1994, and was released by DIW. Craig Taborn Trio, with bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Tani Tabbal, featured Taborn playing in a range of styles on piano and included several of his own compositions.Dryden, Ken "Craig Taborn Trio: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 27, 2013. At this stage in his career, his comments on his tastes in composition and performance were: "Even though I like avant garde jazz and classical music, I like to swing. I like to work with harmony and melody in my own music, and I like acoustical instruments. But I can be quite dictatorial about the composed section, and lay down in great detail what everyone is supposed to do and how they should do it."
Frequent performances and tours with Carter and others meant that Taborn's studies were delayed: he graduated from university with a BA in general studies (rather than the intended English literature) in April 1995, after which he moved to New York.Woodford, John (June 1995) "Non-Piano Man" . Michigan Today. He continued playing with Carter into 1998.Ratliff, Ben (December 19, 1998) "With Blustery Bravado Through a Saxophone". The New York Times. p. D10. In the late 1990s, Taborn also recorded with saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell (Taborn's first appearance on the ECM label), and for techno producer Carl Craig's album Programmed as part of Innerzone Orchestra."Innerzone Orchestra: Programmed" (September 13, 1999) CMJ New Music Report. p. 58.
2000–2009
In 2001, Taborn made his second recording as leader: Light Made Lighter, for Thirsty Ear, with Chris Lightcap on bass and Cleaver on drums. "On the strength of this recording", wrote the Los Angeles Times reviewer, "Taborn emerges as one of the most exciting pianists to lead a band since the ascent of Matthew Shipp".Reich, Howard (November 11, 2001) "Pianist Craig Taborn Comes into His Own". Los Angeles Times. Another reviewer commented that "Taborn seems to revel in the cracks the way [Thelonious] Monk did, hitting the awkward-sounding notes between the notes to punctuate his lines".Henrdrickson, Tad (November 19, 2001) "Craig Taborn Trio: Light Made Lighter" CMJ New Music Report. p. 24.
In the 2000s, "Taborn became one of the most in-demand musicians in New York", in the words of one biographer. He played and recorded with a large, diverse range of musicians, in both free jazz and more mainstream bands, and playing various keyboard and electronic instruments.In Daniel Kernohan (ed.) (2010) Music Is Rapid Transportation... From the Beatles to Xenakis. Charivari. p. 209. . One critic observed that a lot of his collaborations in the early and mid-2000s did not feature a bassist, and suggested that Taborn's "dexterity and inventiveness [...] stand in for both a keyboard and a bass player." In 2001, he had his first solo concert in New York, and made his first recordings under the leadership of saxophonist Tim Berne, and with a trio led by percussionist Susie Ibarra. On these, he employed electronics as well as piano.Dahlen, Chris (February 11, 2002) "Susie Ibarra Trio – Songbird Suite". Pitchfork."Jazz". (May 25, 2002) Billboard. p. 23. Taborn went on to record, during the period 2002–04, as a sideman under the leadership of Steve Coleman, Dave Douglas, Marty Ehrlich, Drew Gress, Evan Parker, Wadada Leo Smith, and others. In 2003, Taborn toured Europe with Ibarra's band, and played with saxophonist Lotte Anker for the first time.Hobart, Mike (May 13, 2010) "Anker/Taborn/Sanders, Vortex Jazz Club, London". ft.com.
Taborn's third release as a leader was Junk Magic in 2004, again for Thirsty Ear, with tenor saxophonist Aaron Stewart, violist Mat Maneri and drummer Dave King."Junk Magic: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 11, 2013. The album's title was also the name of the band, which was formed to be Taborn's electronic group, allowing him to explore the interactions of composition, improvisation and electronics.Canter, Andrea (April 18, 2013) "Frenzied Hero: Craig Taborn on Composition, Creativity and Collaboration" . The Jazz Police. Texture and pulse were important contributors to the overall sound.Chinen, Nate (June 1, 2004) "Blue Shift" . The Village Voice.
Taborn played with Chris Potter from around 2005,Adler, David R. (March 2006) "Chris Potter: The Potter Principle". JazzTimes. and toured Europe with the saxophonist's Underground band early in 2007.Hobart, Mike (January 17, 2007) "Chris Potter's Underground, Pizza Express Jazz Club, London". ft.com. The pianist played the Monterey Jazz Festival in 2007. In late 2007 and early 2008, Taborn toured internationally with Underground, guitarist David Torn's Prezens,Fordham, John (January 21, 2008) "Did We Lose Our Prezens of Mind?". The Guardian. as well as being part of shorter tours and making occasional appearances with Cleaver, Gress, Ibarra, Mitchell, and William Parker. In April 2008 he toured Europe with Berne's Science Friction, was back in Europe for the first three weeks of the following month, this time as part of David Binney's quartet, and returned there in November with Potter.Hobart, Mike (November 11, 2008) "Herbie Hancock / Chris Potter / Richard Galliano". ft.com. Taborn remarked in 2008 that he was attempting to phase out his use of a laptop in performance, to allow him to concentrate more on improvising, and that he had delayed further performances as a leader, owing to finances. In the same year, he commented on the number of regular, working bands he was a member of: "You could say 15 to 20. But if you're talking about the ones that are regularly working right now, I'd have to say seven or eight."Robson, Britt (March 21, 2008) "Craig's List". Star Tribune.
After joining Michael Formanek's quartet in 2008, Taborn recorded under the double bassist's leadership for the first time the following year."Michael Formanek – The Rub and Spare Change: Project" . ECM. Retrieved December 20, 2014. Also in 2009, Taborn played with trumpeter Tomasz Stańko in New York,"Jazz". (April 3, 2009) The New York Times. p. C20. and returned to Europe for concerts with Torn,"Torn's Prezens Is Required Listening". (April 10, 2009) The Irish Times. p. B23. violinist Dominique Pifarély,Hobart, Mike (November 3, 2009) "Dominique Pifarély, Vortex Jazz Club, London". ft.com. and with his own trio.Hobart, Mike (December 9, 2009) "Craig Taborn, Vortex, London". ft.com.
2010–present
In the early 2010s, Taborn continued playing and recording with others, but also had more solo concerts than earlier in his career. He had a solo tour of Europe in 2010, which may have led to an agreement with ECM to record his first solo piano album, Avenging Angel, which was released in 2011.Whitehead, Kevin (April 22, 2013) "Interview: Craig Taborn" . wonderingsound.com. In critic Nate Chinen's view, this album concentrated on "pure sound", being "full of moments where a note hangs sharply in the air, and you hear the gathering overtones, the vibrations of the strings".Chinen, Nate (July 5, 2011) "Going It Alone: The Mysterious Rewards of Solo Jazz Piano". International Herald Tribune. p. 12. The album helped Taborn get more attention as a leader.Friedwald, Will (April 6, 2012) "The Jazz Scene: He Can Play for Miles and Miles". Wall Street Journal. p. A20.