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The Album

Banjo...

Banjo...

The Artist

Otis Taylor

Otis Taylor at his best!
Banjo…, is blues icon Otis Taylor’s 15th album and definitely his best. This is a stunning album both musically and sonically, recorded exclusively at Octave Record’s DSD studios in DSD256. Banjo… was recorded in Boulder over a two week period, with Otis Taylor’s band members flown in from all over the country for the occasion. On drums, the amazing Chuck Louden brings his rhythmic fire along with Nick Amodeo on bass and mandolin, J.P. Johnson on lead guitar, and on the B3 Hammond and Moog synth, the wild man himself, Brian Juan. The music on Banjo… is Otis Taylor at his best. Have a listen to the samples to hear for yourself. This is a must-have masterpiece from one of the best blues musicians in the world. Pure Otis.
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About

Otis Taylor

Otis Taylor was born in Chicago in 1948 and was raised in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood. His father worked as a Pullman porter. Both parents were jazz fans. He's a celebrated blues icon with 14 original albums and 10 compilation albums. Taylor is one of the most celebrated blues artists in the world. He, along with Etta James, were voted the "Best Blues Entertainer" title in 2004. Down Beat Magazine named Taylor's Double V as Blues CD of the Year for 2005 and named Recapturing the Banjo as Blues CD of the Year, in 2008, where they wrote "there's not been a better roots album released this year or decade than Recapturing the Banjo." Taylor's 2015 releaseHey Joe Opus Red Meatwas editor's choice for album of the year in Blues Music Magazine and Premier Guitar Magazine and named "Album of the Year" by Blues411 and one of the top 30 albums of the year by The Blues magazine. Down Beat gave it 4 and half stars and listed it as one of their top 100 albums of the year.Otis Taylor- vocals, guitar, harmonica, kazoo, banjoJ.P. Johnson- lead guitarNick Amodeo- bass, mandolinBrian Juan- organChuck Louden- drumsBrian Juan- Moog, pianoBeth Rosbach- celloJoseph Howe- celloJay Elliott- recording and mix engineerDavid Glasser- mastering engineerOtis Taylor- producerJoe Kessler- associate producerJessica Carson- executive producer

01 - Otis Taylor - 1964
02 - Otis Taylor - Write A Book About It
03 - Otis Taylor - Blind Man
04 - Otis Taylor - Travel Guide
05 - Otis Taylor - 12 Feet Under
06 - Otis Taylor - Little Willie
07 - Otis Taylor - Nasty Letter
08 - Otis Taylor - Resurrection Blues
09 - Otis Taylor - Hit From The Left
10 - Otis Taylor - American Dime
11 - Otis Taylor - Live Your Life

Recording

The recording was brilliantly captured in pure DSD256 by Octave Records' engineer, Jay Elliott at Octave Studios in Boulder, Colorado. Microphones used:
  • Coles 4038
  • Neumann U87
  • Neumann U67
  • ADK Z-251
  • BeesNeez LuLu FET KM84
  • Royer 121
  • AKG C24 as modified by Tim Paravicini
  • AKG C414
  • Audix D4
  • Sennheiser 421
  • Beyerdynamic M201
  • EV RE20
Preamps:
  • Manley Force Vacuum Tube
  • Fred Forssell SMP-2b
  • 2016 Grace Design M201MK2
Recording System:
  • Pyramix 14

Album Features

  • One pressing Austrian gold-pressed dual-layer SACD
  • Pure DSD + PROMastered CD layers
  • Pure DSD recorded on the Pyramix DSD256 system
  • Mixed at Octave Studios on the aspen FR30 loudspeakers
  • DSD64, 128, 256, DSDDirect Mastered 192kHz 24 bit, 96kHz 24 bit, 44.1kHz 16 bit PCM available as downloads
  • No compression in the mastering or mixing process
  • CD layer of SACD playable on any CD player
  • Mastering by David Glasser
  • All tracks are hand-curated on the aspen FR30 loudspeakers
  • Limited edition one-pressing physical media

Video


The great Otis Taylor released his latest album, Banjo... and shared his thoughts about being an entertainer, a black man, and a song writer.

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