Taylor’s compositions on Circle Squared serve as the springboard for exciting improvisations that are as thoroughly unpredictable as they are mesmerizing. The combination of elaborately written compositions, imaginative professionals and the rarely heard voice of the french horn works supremely well. Mark Taylor’s quartet certainly is unlike any other performing in today’s jazz scene.
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Much is made of Taylor’s choice of instrument, and usually mention of Julius Watkins or Tom Varner is not far behind. And while it is indeed impressive how Taylor has made the often-lugubrious horn a flexible means for genuine expression – his range is remarkable, from his muted opening on “Alexia’s Rescue,” to the trombone-like textures of his solo on “Oni,” to his appreciation of the horn’s inherent, rounded quality throughout “Broken” – such single-minded focus is a bit of a shame. Because Circle Squared is far more notable for the compelling structures in which he places his innovations, his embrace of tense opposites and the unique architecture of his lines that pick their way through them. Naturally, his fellow musicians here deserve a great deal of the credit – knowing when to lash out in their own individualized directions and when to corral them – but the overall cohesiveness of the album (the way it zigs and zags but continues marching simultaneously around the same, insistent four corners) is also largely an attribute of the unique sense Taylor has for how to present his unique instrument. Taylor has been an intriguing, if largely underappreciated element in a number of forward-facing ensembles in the past (most notably some of Henry Threadgill’s better groups); Circle Squared is fine evidence that he is ready to strike out on his own with his own engaging music in hand.
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French hornist Mark Taylor is not just another French horn player. For one thing, few musicians have dared to take up the instrument, a much trickier customer than its cousins, trumpet and trombone. Derring-do naturally characterises Taylor's musicianship. The former Henry Threadgill sideman is more than equipped for the challenge with a robust tone and strong compositions. The minimalist, somewhat painterly "Broken" is particularly poignant. There is good all-round ensemble playing here with Don Pullen-esque stylings from pianist Myra Melford.
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