Dennis Taylor's Musical Vision Lives On With 'Steppin' Out'

One of Nashville's most respected musicians, saxophonist and composer Dennis Taylor, always dreamed of recording¹ his own album as a bandleader. That dream came true with his debut² set "Steppin' Out." But, Dennis never lived to see its much-anticipated release.
The music world lost a giant when Dennis Taylor died of a sudden heart attack at age 56 last October. Dennis was touring with singer Delbert McClinton, when according to fellow band member Kevin McKendree, his physical condition rapidly deteriorated³.
"We were out on the road and we were just leaving Greenville, Texas and he was complaining of indigestion. And he had also said that his arm had gone numb," McKendree said. "We got to a hospital and gave him some aspirin⁴, and on his way in to the hospital he remarked that he was feeling much better. But then 15 minutes later he was gone. It was just like that."
Dennis mastered the saxophone at a young age. He studied at several prestigious⁵ music schools in Boston, taught improvisational⁶ workshops, and eventually joined a band led by blues⁷ great Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. He also toured with Eric Clapton and U2, and after settling down in Nashville, worked with a variety of country music stars.
No one followed his career more closely than his wife Karen Leipziger, who first met Dennis in 1985. Karen, a noted⁸ musician and publicist, says Dennis was playing better than ever, working almost non-stop with some of the best in the business.
"He worked hard at it and working with great players pushes you and it just got deeper," Leipziger said. "It didn't really change as much as it just got better and deeper. He had a pretty eclectic background but it was all kind of rooted in a lot of New Orleans, Texas blues, jazz. His big heroes were people like Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Stanley Turrentine, Hank Crawford was a big influence, Gene⁹ Ammons, people like that."
"This was the album he wanted to make," she continued. "He was a sideman. He loved being a sideman. He never wanted to be a bandleader but he had a vision for this album. He had been talking about doing an organ trio album for as long as I had known him. He never talked about another one. This was the one he wanted to make, and he completed it and he was really proud of it."
Karen Leipziger served as the executive director on "Steppin' Up," with Dennis Taylor's close friend and collaborator¹⁰ Kevin McKendree playing the Hammond B-3 organ.
Dennis covers tunes¹¹ by his R&B heroes Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Isaac Hayes and Percy Mayfield, as well as The Beatles and Dr. John. His rendition of Buddy¹² Johnson's "Since I Fell For You" features Delbert McClinton on vocals¹³.

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

3 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

4 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

5 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

6 improvisational   

adj. 即兴的

参考例句：

• I have never been at games like charades or improvisational acting. 您从来都唔擅长玩“有口难言”或者“即席表演”之类既游戏。
• I'm practicing self-control, those random and improvisational acts aren't allowed. 我在练习控制自己，那些随意的、即兴的举动是不允许的。

7 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

10 collaborator   

n.合作者，协作者

参考例句：

• I need a collaborator to help me. 我需要个人跟我合作，帮我的忙。
• His collaborator, Hooke, was of a different opinion. 他的合作者霍克持有不同的看法。

11 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

13 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。