By Don Doman:  Jenny Marsh of Gibson Guitars in Seattle met with Ed in late July and presented him with a brand new Gibson Guitar ES-175.

I’ve known Ed Taylor for over twenty years. We met when I had my TV studio in downtown Tacoma, Washington kitty-corner from the YMCA. The first time we worked together was for a Tall Ships celebration. We had comedienne Debbie Wooten warm up the crowds on two nights and featured guest artists on saxophone on both nights: Darren Motamedy and Patrick Lamb. After that, we connected again with The Smooth Operators: Ed Taylor, Greg Adams of Tower of Power, and two time Grammy award winner Paul Brown performing at the Emerald Queen Casino.

Originally from Yuma, Arizona, Ed has made his home in the Tacoma area for the last thirty-five years. Before settling down here he was a session musician in Los Angeles for Motown. He’s played jazz, blues, funk, soul, R&B and rock and even a little country and Polka to pay bills in the early days.

Although mostly self-taught from listening to old records and developing his own style, he now teaches aspiring musicians at Ted Brown Music in Tacoma.

Ed likes Smooth Jazz, which offers him the ability to create moods via guitar. I like Ed best when he performs the blues. Ed says, “We actually segue between jazz, R&B, smooth jazz, funk, rock and blues. If you don’t know the blues, you can’t play anything else. My band knows the blues!” I saw Ed and his group play an off the cuff version of “Spill the Wine” once at the Cedar Wood in Federal Way. They psychedelic rocked way past Eric Burden and War. It was an inspired performance. I saw an old dude making moves that Bruno Mars only hopes he can make some day.

One of the most popular reality shows on television is Pawn Stars based in Las Vegas. Quite often someone will bring an old Gibson Les Paul, or a Gibson steel lap guitar, or even an ancient Gibson mandolin to get an evaluation and sell the treasured piece. Then we get a chance to hear experts talk about the quality and value of Gibson musical instruments. Gibson has proudly been a supporter of Ed Taylor for more than ten years. The Gibson ES-175 was first introduced in 1949. Gibson continues to update and manufactures these fine guitars. Ed is thrilled to work with Gibson and thankful for the opportunity to represent Gibson Brands, Inc. now based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ed has club dates up and down the Puget Sound Region from Seattle to Tacoma. He is currently working with promoters for a show in late November. He’ll once again be sharing the stage with his friend and producer Paul Brown.

Don Doman is a published author of self-help small business books, a digital marketer, an Imagineer, and a community instigator.