Ted Taforo is a Los Angeles-based musician known for his powerful saxophone sound, versatility and unique compositions. Taforo is a two-time recipient of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award and was recently named semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition. Taforo has been featured on JUNO award and GRAMMY award nominated albums. Taforo’s songs have been featured on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon Music editorials, including Dog Dad which was featured in the Spotify Fresh Finds Jazz Best of 2023. Taforo has released six records of original music with various labels including Revolver Records, Urban Waves Records, and Future Gods.
Taforo contributed saxophone for two albums by the rock band Spoon on Matador Records (Hot Thoughts, 2017, and Lucifer On The Sofa, 2022 which received a nomination for Best Rock Album in the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards).
Taforo has performed on several Netflix food show soundtracks for Duncan Thum including Street Foods and the Emmy award nominated Chef’s Table. Taforo's saxophone can be heard on HBO's Faye Documentary score by Tyler Strickland which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. Taforo contributed horns and arrangements to Cyrus Melchor’s score for Who Is Stan Smith? which premiered at IFC center in New York City and was produced by Lebron James and Maverick Carter’s Spring Hill Company. Taforo also contributed to Melchor's score for The Express Way with Dulé Hill which released in 2024 on PBS. Taforo contributed saxophone for a remake of Eric B and Rakim’s Don’t Sweat The Technique which was placed in a commercial for the Lexus LX 600 and a trailer for Sprite Limelight which featured Rakim and Latto in 2023.
In 2021 Taforo played saxophone and flute on drummer/producer Efajemue’s Aesthetics album which was nominated for a Canadian JUNO award in 2022. In 2023 Taforo performed with Efajemue at four major jazz festivals in Canada including The Montreal International Jazz Festival, and opened for The Bad Plus in Edmonton, Alberta at the Edmonton International Jazz Festival. The tour was sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Taforo grew up in northern California and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester NY and has an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts.
Quotes:
"Ted Taforo is a fantastic saxophonist with a vision of the future of improvised music. Keep your eye on him."
- Charles Pillow
"In my opinion Ted Taforo is one of the bright shining lights in the current crop of young creative musicians in the new millenium. He possesses all of the intelligence and technical wizardry found among his peers plus a profound sense of humanity. Notes are not wasted, there is a story that is central to his improvisational excursions, and most importantly, he always lets his heart govern his choices."
- Larry Koonse
"Ted is one rare flowering plant in the arid landscape of the desert chaparral. His open spirit allows him to experiment and flourish in a number of improvisational contexts. That's hard to find."
- Mark Ferber
"Ted Taforo has immense talent that manages to push almost every boundary."
-Emily Perlman, Open Ears Music
Press:
The Wild Honey Pie
Clunk Magazine
Week In Pop
Mandatory
Voyage LA
Rolling Stone
Exclaim
Give It A Spin
Open Ears Music
Credits:
All Music
IMDB
Social Media:
Streaming:
Spotify
Bandcamp
Contact:
[email protected]
