Keyboardist Craig Taborn Interviewed at AAJ

There is no place for fear or doubt in pianist Craig Taborn's playing--such states are banished from a mind that seeks to explore the musical possibilities of each moment with maximum freedom. Taborn's improvisational playing is a continual creation where the journey is the thing, and words like beautiful, ugly and mistake have virtually no meaning. True improvisers like Taborn, with the ability to take the leap into the unknown, have always been a fairly rare breed.

From early collaborations with James Carter, Taborn has gone on to work in a wide variety of settings, from acoustic trios to electronic and techno. He has played with some of the most innovative musicians around, such as Roscoe Mitchell, Bill Laswell, David Torn, David Binney and Lotte Anker, to name but a handful. In whatever setting he appears, Taborn leaves an indelible mark.

AAJ Contributor Ian Patterson spoke at length with Taborn about his latest release with bassist William Parker and drummer Gerald Cleaver, Farmers by Nature (AUM Fidelity, 2009), the moral dilemma of audience recordings and more in Craig Taborn: Rooted, featured at AAJ today.

You can also read Ian's in-depth review of Farmers by Nature, also published today at AAJ. Additional reviews by Mark F. Turner, Mark Corotto, John Sharpe, Lyn Horton and Sean Patrick Fitzell are also available.

AAJ provides the most extensive coverage of jazz artists and new releases on the web. Be sure to check out AAJ's coverage of Craig Taborn and Farmers By Nature at AAJ today!