WILD WOMXN

Introducing the first live record from Brooklyn-based jazz, blues and soul vocalist Lee Taylor.

At just 5’0’’, emerging vocalist Lee Taylor has to work hard – and wear the tallest heels – to secure her spotlight among the crowded New York live music scene. Luckily, she packs a big mezzo soprano voice, raspy from years of enthusiastic tequila and tobacco use, but smooth from classical training, letting her bounce from rumbling low notes to high-pitched howls that hang in the air. Word gets around, and beyond weekly shows at jazz clubs, her resume includes musical appearances at Lincoln Center and the Apollo Theater, as well as a recent three-month tour in Australia. Skill is one thing, but she also brings the massive effort and determination needed to succeed as a full-time musician, especially as a queer woman. There is also an element of chance, as her debut album, Wild Womxn Live, was scheduled for release this spring until you-know-what happened, and plans are suddenly on pause.

Taylor’s musical life started in Virginia, where she walked into a music class in fifth grade and was too small to hold a trumpet, so she picked up a saxophone and discovered an aptitude for classical music. This widened to other genres over time and led to theater and singing in church. “I always sang but never thought it would amount to anything,” Taylor recalls, “I had stage fright and would shake badly.” She honed her abilities with the diligence learned from playing sports throughout high school. Performing before crowds is like playing a big game, she says, “You practice 22 hours a day, then you have two hours [to play] and one shot to show the world what you learned.”

At 20, Taylor was living in Memphis, immersed in the soul, blues and jazz scene where greats like Al Green, Mavis Maples and B.B. King got started. This is where she began the vocal lessons that raised her sound to a professional level. “I increased my range by about an octave,” she said. Before long, Taylor had her first musical residency, singing to a bar crowd every Wednesday night, which established the loyalty formula she follows today.

As a live performer, Taylor says it is critical to foster relationships with venues, bandmates and fans, creating a network of supporters who then book you, recommend you, and spend money on your music. “You’re investing in someone’s mastery of their craft,” she said of people who attend live shows. In the past, musicians made the bulk of their income from record sales, but that has dwindled with the advent of free online streaming. “Your recordings [now] serve as a promotion for your live performances,” she explains. An online presence matters for exposure, but to benefit musicians, people have to show up and spend money at the door, bar, and tip jar.

In New York, Taylor has continued to find musical residencies at venues as well as events like Dyke Bar Takeover, a monthly dance party for queer women that raises money for charity and political activism, topics close to her heart. Event founder Alana Integlia describes Taylor as driven, and says, “She actually links her personal politics and identity very strongly to her music. Her desire to support the queer community is deeply rooted in her life and art.”

So, is Wild Womxn Live a queer record? “It is inherently queer because I am, but the target audience is anyone, everyone,” Taylor explains, “[The songs] are all about life; I don’t write too much about love.” Lyrics follow the blues tradition of bittersweet memories and lessons learned, but also include stories about people like Marsha P. Johnson, a transgender activist believed to have thrown the brick that ignited the Stonewall Riots. “I call it conscious party music,” Taylor says, referring to the musical sleight of hand used when she wrote and produced this dance-record-with-a-message.

The record has a multi-genre sound but is aimed at jazz and soul fans, featuring a 12-piece band that supports Taylor’s vocals with brassy horns, deft piano work and a soulful rhythm section, all with a pop twist designed to get people dancing. True to her roots, the album was recorded live in Brooklyn with most songs done on the first take. The worldwide pandemic forced her team to pause work and wait for the moment when people can get out and celebrate again, but Taylor is undeterred. She says, “The [new] plan is to release it during Pride month in June, at least “Pay it No Mind” [about activist Johnson], because I wanted the community to have a song about serious stuff that was also a dance song.”

Text and photos by Julie Tracy.

Follow Lee Taylor's musical projects on her Instagram at @LoveLeeTaylor and her website at LoveLeeTaylor.com Note that responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.