Mike Taylor (musician)

Michael Ronald Taylor (1 June 1938, Ealing, West London – 19 January 1969) was a British jazz composer, pianist, and co-songwriter for the band Cream.

Having rehearsed and written extensively throughout the early 1960s, he recorded two albums for the Lansdowne series produced by Denis Preston: Pendulum (1966) with drummer Jon Hiseman, bassist Tony Reeves and saxophonist Dave Tomlin and Trio (1967) with Hiseman and bassists Jack Bruce and Ron Rubin.

Three Taylor compositions were recorded by Cream, with lyrics by drummer Ginger Baker: "Passing the Time", "Pressed Rat and Warthog" and "Those Were the Days", all of which appeared on the band's August 1968 album Wheels of Fire.

Neil Ardley's New Jazz Orchestra's September 1968 recording Le Déjeuner Sur L’Herbe features one original Taylor composition, "Ballad", and an arrangement by him of a piece by Alexandre Tansman, "Study".

Mike Taylor drowned in the River Thames near Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in January 1969, following years of heavy drug use (principally hashish and LSD).