Machan Taylor (pronounced Ma-chawn) is an incredibly versatile singer with a jazz background who was worked with everyone from Pink Floyd to The Glenn Miller Orchestra—you can see her in band Gov’t Mule’s Pink Floyd celebration Dark Side of the Mule across the country this summer. With a strong music background on her mother’s Japanese side of the family, Machan is no stranger to performing and being on the road. I spoke with her a bit about her incredible journey across the world and different genres, as well as what’s in store ahead.
Edmund Barker: So, can you tell us a bit about what your very early musical career was right, before you got picked up by Glenn Miller Orchestra at around 19?
Machan Taylor: Well, I had a group with friends…we were called Grover, Margaret, and Za Zu Zaz! [chuckles] And we did a lot of Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross; Cab Calloway, that vocal kind of music. And it was sort of an eclectic mix of that, plus jazz fusion stuff. So, we were kind of all over the place, but we were very successful and it was a really special thing. And it was a really special developmental time for me, as a player and a singer in this band. So, yeah, those were really important years. And how I got in The Glenn Miller Orchestra, it was the agent who had booked my band, Za Zu Zaz who was looking for someone for them. So, obviously, Glenn Miller had long been deceased, but the band was still there and touring. So, it was a great opportunity to have experience and to play that music. And when the agent said there was a spot available and that an audition was available, I decided to go for it. Now, you know, I had grown up listening to a lot of Beatles and Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra, so that was a part of my generation, and it was also in my DNA. So, after I worked with Glenn Miller Orchestra, I was able to transition into working as a background vocalist, and it was very natural.
EB: Yeah. Say, what was the name of that band of yours again? Za za something?
MT: [laughs] So it was called Grover, Margaret, and Za Zu Zaz! Grover was my partner and Margaret was my original name.
EB: Was gonna say, that’s a great band name, but I’m sure it was a bit hard to fit on a sign or marquee and have it all fit.
MT: Yeah, but they managed! They managed. We would abbreviate, like GM and ZZZ. Something like that.
EB: And would you say your sound in GM and ZZZ was more rock than jazz?
MT: You know, it was really a crossover. Jazz, swing, bebop, and sort of fusion. So, it was kind of a wild mix. With that band, we did a reunion recently, and you can look it up online.
EB: I definitely will see that. I guess, while we’re talking about lookbacks, my next question is: if you could go back in time to when you were just starting out in music and give yourself some advice for your career—daunting question, I know—what do you think you would tell yourself?
MT: That’s a good question. I would say to…not be so worried about what others think, and do what you want. What I mean by this is, I really had a strong desire to be a solo artist, and I fell into all this wonderful work, I’m really glad to have all these opportunities as a background vocalist, but it was a bit of a sidetrack, it did take me away for many years from some of my original aspirations. And I think once I got off that track, it was difficult to come back, if that makes sense.
EB: That’s an excellent answer to give yourself at that time, don’t try and please absolutely everyone, follow the beat of your own drum. I think that’s good advice for everyone.
MT: Yeah, I think there is a time where we’re more susceptible perhaps, to outside influences, and opinions, and ideas. And it’s become a lot more encouraged to really follow your own path and your own views of the world, and your fearless aspirations. Because you get older and say now from this perspective and this time in life, I care a whole lot less about what people think! [laughs] It’s like a benefit of age.
EB: Now, I’m an author myself, so I found it very interesting when I read that you were hoping to come out with a book, potentially.
MT: Yes. Yes, I’m currently working on a book, I have a ways to go yet. But I have started the process, and I thought I would tell my story regarding not only my career, and my career experiences, but my career experiences along with being Asian American. It was a very different time, when I was younger in American culture, in American society…I didn’t have really guides or mentors or Asian American examples whether it was in movies, music, or just in society in general. It just wasn’t as prevalent as it is now. You know, the multicultural, multiracial aspect of American life is a lot more cherished, and discussed, much more than what I knew.
EB: So it would be like an autobiography or memoir?
MT: Yeah, it’s a memoir, but I believe one with multiple layers to its story.
Follow Machan Taylor on the web:
www.instagram.com/machantaylorofficial
P.S. Check out Machan Taylor on tour with Gov’t Mule in the Pink Floyd Tribute “Dark Side Of The Mule”
