Otis Taylor Band @ Dazzle, 2 shows at 5:30 and 8:30

From Dazzle Denver’s Holiday Gift Guide:

For the Blues Lover

Otis Taylor grew up in Denver, but like the old blues song said, he was born in Chicago in 1948.  The first instrument Taylor learned to play was the banjo, but he soon rejected the banjo for its association with the racist American South.  Taylor would eventually return to the banjo upon discovering its African roots.

Like so many musicians in Denver, Taylor drew inspiration from th time spent at the Denver Folklore Center founded by Harry Tuft, where he first heard Piedmont, Delta, country, and Chicago blues artists like Son House, Muddy Waters, and Mississippi Fred McDowell.  He learned to play guitar and harmonica and while still in his teens formed a band called the Butterscotch Fire Department and later the Otis Taylor Blues Band.