Taylor Kelly w/ Inez and Back Alley Sound

Born and raised in the suburbs of Rochester, NY, Taylor Kelly is now a fixture in the vibrant Philadelphia music scene further honing her introspective take on jazz, soul, and funk. She combines her smooth, powerful, technically-informed voice with a full horn section, addictive hip hop and electronic beats, and complex arrangements she writes herself. Her sound is a dynamic blend of several established genres: she melds the improvisational looseness of jazz, the rhythmic earworms of funk, and the moving resonance of soul to carve out a niche all her own. Kelly names Stevie Wonder, Roy Hargrove, Erykah Badu, Chet Baker and Emily King as influences, integrating strong melodic contour and intricate harmonies into lyrically personal and sonically anthemic tracks. 

 ‘All I Need’, Kelly’s EP released in February 2022, is an intimate and minimalistic departure from her previous work, which typically features an 8-piece band. Kelly recorded this project alone with her producer, Robby Webb, at his home studio before adding the colors, textures and prowess of Danae Greenfield (keys), Simon Martinez (guitar), Matt Keppler (bass), Conner Saltzer (drums), Frankie DeRosa (strings) and Zeek Burse (additional vocals).  She credits Webb with helping her navigate the evolution of her sound. Kelly’s voice is the most prominent instrument in this latest project, providing both the melodic focal point as well as lush, layered harmonies. The result is a deeply groovy, moving and at times melancholic meditation on Kelly’s conflicted and searching inner world. The first single, “Maybe”, was featured in Chicago’s Vocalo Radio’s “In Rotation” playlist for November 2021 where she was also interviewed. See interview here.

Kelly is a Berklee College of Music graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Music. Along with her band, she has released six albums/EPs, has shared the stage with Dirty Loops, St Paul and the Broken Bones, Moonchild, Becca Stevens, Monophonics, Neal Francis, Giacomo Turra and Georgia Anne Muldrow and has played at Beardfest and Rose Arts Festival. She has amassed over 750,000 listens for her single “California” on streaming services worldwide and has uplifted, inspired, and energized thousands of ardent concertgoers at hundreds of live shows with her unabashed authenticity and immersively freeing performance style. She released a live album entitled ‘Live in Philly’ with three accompanying videos on June 16th of 2023. Kelly has an unyielding, marrow-deep commitment to self expression through music and will continue to transfer this passion to her listeners with her new EP set to release later this year.