It is with shock and deep regret that I announce news of Jim Taylor's tragic and untimely death on March 7, 2009. Jim and I were good friends when I lived in the Asheville, NC area. He was a superb woodworker, making some of the finest hammered dulcimers I have ever seen (I feel lucky to own one). He was also a great player and musician, historian, had a wonderful voice, and was an avid Civil War re-enactor. I asked Jim to play on my first studio recording, "Second Wind". He can be heard on that CD on "Star of the County Down". I was honored when Jim asked me to play guitar on his first recording, "Come Before Winter". I was even more honored when he asked me to play guitar on his next project, his first two recordings of Civil War era fiddle tunes, along with fiddler Bruce Greene and banjoist Sheila K. Adams. These compilations, originally entitled "Falls of Richmond" and "Little Rose Is Gone", were originally issued as cassette only, and later re-mastered and compiled for the CD "The Civil Ear Collection". Jim will be sorely missed. I think of him whenever I see his dulcimer, and I will forever have good memories of working with Jim and friends on his fine recordings. They can still be found on sites like Gourd Music and Amazon.
Recordings I did with Jim:
| "One October Morn" | Pearl May Music 1999 |
| "The Civil War Collection" | Pearl May Music 1994 |
| "Little Rose Is Gone" | Pearl May Music 1990 |
| "The Falls of Richmond" | Pearl May Music 1989 |
| "Come Before Winter" | Upstream Records 1988 |