Draft:Machan Taylor

Machan Taylor (Margaret Taylor) is an American singer and composer; best known for her work with the bands Pink Floyd and Gov't Mule, Taylor is also an adjunct instructor at New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music and The New School's School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.

Early life
The daughter of an American armed forces member and a Japanese mother, she was raised Catholic. Taylor started singing at the age of eight; her religious upbringing and maternal family's musical background shaped her development as an artist. Taylor's mother was a singer in Japan in the post World War II era, performing American jazz in the officer's club at a Yokohama United States Army base (where she met Taylor's father); Taylor's maternal grandfather was a professional concert pianist and a professor at the University of Tokyo, where he taught piano and cello and directed choirs; additionally Taylor's maternal uncle was a composer, another uncle a saxophonist, and another a pianist. Taylor grew up listening to classical music and jazz; as an adolescent she began listening to rock, pop, folk, and other music styles. Taylor grew up in Paterson and Wharton, New Jersey and attended Morris Hills High School; she graduated early, with parental permission, at the age of 16 so she could focus on her music career.

Musical career
Taylor played clubs almost every night between the ages of 16 and 18; at the age of 19, she joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra and sang with it for two years, touring Europe, Japan, and the United States. She toured in the mid-1980s with Pat Benatar and George Benson as a percussionist and singer before joining Foreigner as a choir director and coordinator, recruiting and organizing local choirs in each city to accompany the band during their performance of I Want to Know What Love Is, including a performance at the 1985 Farm Aid; after her work with Foreigner she joined Pink Floyd, in 1987, for their A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. Taylor was eventually replaced by fellow backup singer Durga McBroom's sister, Lorelei McBroom. Nick Mason and David Gilmour were familiar with Taylor's album session work when she was hired for the tour; she was a touring member of the band for their 1987 and 1988 performances.

Following her tenure with Pink Floyd, Taylor joined Hiroshima, performed with Sting, released two solo albums, and has worked on two albums and a number of tours with Gov't Mule; she has also focused on academic pursuits. In 2023, she joined "Gov’t Mule in the Live Nation production of a Pink Floyd show called Darkside of the Mule, in honor of the 50th anniversary of “Darkside of the Moon.”

Academic career
Taylor resumed academic work following her projects with Sting, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Natalie Merchant, as well as releasing two solo albums, graduating from institutions including New York University, State University of New York Empire State College, Shenandoah University, and University of Utah. She has been a lecturer at New York University and The New School's School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.

Personal life
Taylor is married to Gov't Mule keyboardist Danny Louis and they reside in the New York Hudson Valley's Ulster County area; together, they produce music as the act Gratus Corde. Many fans are also familiar with Taylor as "Margaret" and Taylor explained her focus on the name Machan as follows: "Machan is my Japanese family name. 'Chan' is like an honorific or term of endearment. My grandmother in Japan called me Machan when I was little... it’s a common thing with family and close friends to use a first name or part of a name and add 'chan'... it makes me feel connected to my grandmother and family in Japan... it’s part of my original identity... I never felt like a Margaret, even though that’s connected to my English background and my father's side of the family, who were mainly from England and Ireland."

Solo albums

 * Machan (2004)
 * Motion of Love (2007)

With Bernie Taupin
 * Tribe (1987)

With Belinda Carlisle
 * Runaway Horses (1989)

With Eric Marienthal
 * One Touch (1993)

With Leonard Cohen
 * The Future (1992)

With Mark Portman
 * Driving Beverly Hills (2003)

With Moby
 * 18 (2002)

With Neal Schon
 * Late Nite (1989)

With Pink Floyd
 * Delicate Sound of Thunder (1989)

With REO Speedwagon
 * The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken (1990)

With Hiroshima
 * East (1989)

With Hurt
 * Vol. II (2003)

With SouthGang
 * Tainted Angel (1991)

With Leonard Cohen
 * The Future (1992)

With Gov't Mule
 * Dub Side of the Mule (2006)
 * Mighty High (2007)
 * Dark Side of the Mule (2015)

Collaboration

 * 2001 : Robert Wyatt & Friends – Warmth in the Wilderness: A Tribute to Jason Becker – With Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Mike Campese, Anders Johansson, Lars-Eric Mattsson, Paul Nelson, Jeff Pilson and other groups.