Taylor Moore

When asked how long she has been playing the drums, Taylor Moore is quick to answer, “Since I was in utero.”

Even before she was born, Taylor would “beat” to the rhythm inside of her mother when there was music in the air. As a toddler, she had a favorite pot that she would “play.”

While in kindergarten, she entered an Afro-centric after school program that offered the rhythms that had always been a part of her. As the only female in the African drum corps, Mandinjalia, Taylor played the djembe with such passion and skill, she was always a standout during group performances.

Over the years, Taylor honed her skills playing classical music pieces as a member of the Kenwood Academy H. S. Concert and Marching bands. Her classical music training also included playing with the Protégé Philharmonic and the All-City Concert Band in Chicago, Illinois.

A lover of all kinds of music, this talented young lady branched out into jazz in her sophomore year, playing with the Kenwood Jazz Band and the Jazz Links Ensemble. Taylor was identified as a gifted percussionist and was the first female drummer in the Ravinia Jazz Scholars program in the Chicago Public School system. Taylor was also the first female drummer selected to perform as a part of the Illinois Music Educators Association jazz combo.

Taylor Moore has played with a multitude of great musicians like percussion phenom Shelia E., singer Patrice Rushen, world-class drummer Ndugu Chancler, jazz pianists Willie Pickens, Ken Chaney and Robert "Baabe" Irving III, gospel greats Andrae Crouch and Sandra Crouch, jazz singers Kurt Elling and Maggie Brown, legendary jazz organist Rueben Wilson, and blues guitarist Clarence Spadey. She has also been mentored by music legends such as world-renowned percussionist/drummer, Steve Berrios and Terri Lyne Carrington, just to name a few.

A recent college graduate, Taylor received her Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance (Jazz Drumset) and Production from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on May 15, 2011. In April of this year, Taylor was named the 2012 Artist in Residence at the Africa International House.

The rhythm that attracted Taylor Moore even while she was in the womb, has become an integral part of her life. Her drumming is crisp, passion-filled, expressive and all-consuming.

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