Taylor Eigsti

Taylor Eigsti
Born (1984-09-24) 24 September 1984
Origin Menlo Park, California, U.S.
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s) Musician, composer
Instruments Piano
Years active 2000s–present
Labels Concord
Associated acts Eric Harland, Julian Lage, Kendrick Scott, Gretchen Parlato
Website tayjazz.com

Taylor Eigsti (born September 24, 1984) is an American jazz pianist and composer.

Eigsti has performed and recorded with many contemporaries including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Ambrose Akinmusire, Walter Smith III, Dayna Stephens, Julian Lage, Larry Grenadier, and Mike Moreno. His trio features bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Eric Harland. He is also a member of Eric Harland's Voyager, Kendrick Scott's Oracle, and Gretchen Parlato's group. Since age 15, Eigsti has been a faculty member at the Stanford Jazz Workshop at Stanford University.[1] As a leader, he has recorded seven albums and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards.

Early life

Eigsti was born to Nancy and Steve Eigsti on September 24, 1984 and grew up in Menlo Park, California. When he was three, his 17-year-old sister, Shannon, died of cancer. Her death made a lasting impression and continued to influence Eigsti's musical development.[2] Eigsti's study of piano began at age four when he was inspired by his older sister, Shannon.[3] He graduated salutatorian of his high school class at Woodside Priory School. He then had a brief stint at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music before dropping out, midway through his sophomore year, to pursue his musical career.[4]

Musical career

Eigsti performed with jazz pianist Dave Brubeck for the first time when he was 12. Brubeck at that time reportedly called Eigsti the most amazing talent he had ever come across.[5] It was also that year that Red Holloway heard Eigsti perform in San Jose and invited him to join his band as a special guest on the SS Norway Jazz Cruise.[6] Two years later Eigsti headlined the same cruise with a trio that featured Dan Brubeck on drums and Chris Brubeck on bass. After the release of his 2006 album, Lucky To Be Me, Eigsti was nominated for two Grammy Awards. His next album, Let It Come To You, received 4-star reviews from Down Beat magazine and All Music Guide. He also was interviewed by Jon Weber as an inaugural guest on NPR's Piano Jazz: Rising Stars program. In September 2002, Eigsti's trio, including bassist John Shifflett and drummer Jason Lewis, made an appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival.[6]

Albums as a bandleader

Eigsti released his first album Tay's Groove at age 14. It featured Seward McCain on bass and Dan Brubeck on drums. Eigsti's second album, Live At Filoli, with John Shifflett on bass and Jason Lewis on drums, was recorded at a concert at Filoli Gardens on September 16, 2000. The trio played this concert as a last minute replacement for a Marian McPartland show. His third album, Taylor's Dream, was released in 2001. Eigsti's first nationally released album was Resonance, recorded in 2003 and released on Bop City Records. It was the trio's third album together and peaked at number five in national jazz radio airplay.

Eigsti's first major label debut was titled Lucky To Be Me. It was released on Concord Records in 2006. Lucky To Be Me features Julian Lage on guitar, Christian McBride on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums. The album received two Grammy nominations - one for Best Instrumental Composition on the Argument, and the other for Best Jazz Solo Performance on Freedom Jazz Dance. The album met with critical acclaim, but it was also criticized for being uneven.[7] In 2008 Eigsti released Let It Come To You, his second release with the Concord label. This album featured Julian Lage on guitar, Reuben Rogers on bass, Eric Harland on drums, Harish Raghavan on bass and Aaron McLendon on drums. Additionally, Joshua Redman, Edmar Castaneda, Dayna Stephens, Ben Wendel, and Evan Francis are featured as guests. Eigsti's next Concord album, Daylight at Midnight, was released on September 21, 2010. This album features vocalist Becca Stevens and several arrangements of contemporary popular artists like Rufus Wainwright, Imogen Heap, and Elliott Smith.[3]

Discography

As leader

Year recorded Title Label Personnel/Notes
1998? Tay's Groove With Seward McCain (bass), Dan Brubeck (drums)
2000? Taylor's Dream With John Shifflett (bass), Jason Lewis (drums)
2000 Live at Filoli With John Shifflett (bass), Jason Lewis (drums); in concert
2003? Resonance Bop City With John Shifflett (bass), Jason Lewis (drums)
2006? Lucky to Be Me Concord With Julian Lage (guitar), Christian McBride (bass), Lewis Nash (drums)
2008? Let It Come to You Concord With Julian Lage (guitar), Reuben Rogers (bass), Eric Harland (drums), Harish Raghavan (bass), Aaron McLendon (drums); plus Joshua Redman, Edmar Castaneda, Dayna Stephens, Ben Wendel, and Evan Francis as guests
2010? Daylight at Midnight Concord With Becca Stevens (vocals), Harish Raghavan (bass, electric bass), Eric Harland (drums); plus Julian Lage (guitar) as guest

As sideman

  • Liquid Love (1999) - Nika Rejto
  • Windows (2001) - Various Artists
  • Songs Without Words II (2001) - Various Artists
  • Intuition (2005) - Brubeck Brothers
  • What Love Is (2006) - Erin Boheme
  • Radiant Blue (2006) - Anton Schwartz
  • The Timeless Now (2007) - Dayna Stephens
  • Convergence (2007) - Chris Brubeck
  • Stringsongruvscaipsoundtreks (2008) - Mike Sweetland
  • Sounding Point (2009) - Julian Lage *GRAMMY Nominee - "Best Contemporary Jazz Album"
  • Simple Song (2009) - Ben Wendel
  • Jazz for Peanuts (2009) - David Benoit
  • Voyager: Live By Night (2010) - Eric Harland
  • Mainstream Straight-Ahead (2010) - Stix Hooper
  • The Lost and Found (2011) - Gretchen Parlato
  • Grace's Song (2012) - Dann Zinn
  • Sideways (2012) - Lauren Desberg
  • Secret Love (2012) - Sara Leib
  • Home: Gift of Music - Japan Earthquake / Tsunami Relief (2012) - Various Artists
  • The Skeptic and the Cynic (2012) - Curtis Nowosad
  • Courage, My Love (2012) - Erin Propp
  • Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project (2012) - Various Artists
  • Arts For Life: My Life is Bold (2012) - Various Artists
  • Conviction (2013) - Kendrick Scott
  • Whatever (2013) - Leron Thomas
  • Paint your Life (2013) - Dario Chiazzolino
  • That Nepenthetic Place (2013) - Dayna Stephens
  • Live in NYC (2013) - Gretchen Parlato *GRAMMY Nominee - "Best Jazz Vocal Album"
  • Flash Mob (2014) - Anton Schwartz
  • Still Casual (2014) - Walter Smith III
  • Vipassana (2014) - Eric Harland Voyager
  • Robin Goodie (2015) - Zhenya Strigalev
  • 21st Century Problems (2015) - Lauren Desberg
  • Cthulhu Rising (2015) - Reuben Bradley
  • Slow Motion Miracles (2015) - Sachal Vasandani
  • We Are the Drum (2015) - Kendrick Scott
  • Sizzle (2016) - Jeff Richman
  • Miles Ahead Soundtrack (2016) - Miles Davis and Various Artists *GRAMMY Winner - "Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media"
  • Shadow Train (2018) – Sachal Vasandani

References

  1. ↑ "Stanford Jazz Festival, Jazz Camp & Jazz Residency: A swinging success!". Stanford Jazz Workshop. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  2. ↑ Harrington, Jim (1997-11-05). "In the key of life". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  3. 1 2 "Taylor Eigsti - Pianist | Composer | Artist | Two-time Grammy Nominee". Taylor Eigsti. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.tayjazz.com/>.
  4. ↑ "Taylor Eigsti and the Prodigy Thing". Interview by Judith Schlesinger. All About Jazz. All About Jazz, 22 Oct. 2004. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.
  5. ↑ "Jazz Monthly Feature Interview: Chris Brubeck & Taylor Eigsti". Interview by Baldwin Smith. Jazz Monthly. Ren Media Publishing, Aug. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. .
  6. 1 2 Schlesinger, Judith. "Taylor Eigsti". AllMusic.
  7. ↑ Chinen, Nate. "Taylor Eigsti Quartet". New York Times: E.1:21.
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