Taylor Eigsti

Taylor Eigsti (born September 24, 1984) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Eigsti’s study of piano began at age four when he was inspired by his older sister, Shannon. By age 12 he was leading his own band and, at 14, he recorded his first album, Tay's Groove. Eigsti was labeled a child prodigy, but has long since transcended the label. Eigsti has been a faculty member at the Stanford Jazz Workshop at Stanford University since age 15. He has performed with Dave Brubeck, Joshua Redman and Diana Krall. He has recorded seven albums as a leader and many more as a sideman. Eigsti has been nominated for two Grammy Awards, and currently resides in New York City, although he spends much of his time on tour around the world.

Early life
Taylor 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. Shannon was a talented musician who served as the pianist for the Menlo-Atherton High School Jazz Band, and once performed with the Doobie Brothers at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. He remembers her music and said in a 1997 interview, "I guess I kinda got the feeling that I wanted to be like her a little bit". At four, his parents decided he was ready to begin piano lessons. Things did not work out between Eigsti and his first piano teacher because, as his mother Nancy reported, "I don't think she [the teacher] thought he was listening to her, because he wasn't feeding back to her what she wanted". He studied with a second traditional teacher until age six when he was advised to seek a jazz instructor. Heeding this advice, Eigsti found a teacher at the Community School of Music and Arts - Randy Masters. Shortly after, at the age of seven, Eigsti composed his first song. Growing up, he maintained a balanced and well-rounded lifestyle despite his intense dedication to the music. He reportedly was named MVP of the his middle school basketball team, was a star receiver on the school flag-football team, and made top grades in his classes. In March 1997 Eigsti's father died from colon cancer. One of his father's last wishes was for Eigsti to have a grand piano on which to perform. On October 4, 1996 Eigsti acquired a Steinway Boston Grand Piano. 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.

Musical career
Shortly after completing his first composition, Taylor Eigsti, at age 8, was selected by the Community School of Music and Arts to open for smooth jazz artist David Benoit at Sunset Gardens. Eigsti was a big fan of Benoit's work and explained that "By the time I was eight I knew most of his songs". 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. At 15, Eigsti joined the faculty at Stanford Jazz Workshop where he still teaches and serves on the advisory board. 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 prestigious SS Norway Jazz Cruise. Two years later Eigsti headlined the very 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 and reached a new level of notoriety. He was featured on the covers of Keyboard and Jazziz magazines and starred in his own special on BET. His next album, Let It Come To You, received 4-star reviews from Downbeat 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 2001, he performed at three "Rising Star" concerts at the Ravina Festival in Chicago. In September 2002, Eigsti's trio, including bassist John Shifflett and drummer Jason Lewis, made an appearance at the esteemed Monterey Jazz Festival.

This increased exposure gave Eigsti the opportunity to play with artists such as Christian McBride, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Julian Lage, Becca Stevens, James Moody, Nicholas Payton, Reuben Rogers, Chris Potter, Al Jarreau, Dave Douglas, Esperanza Spalding, Ambrose Akinmusire, Hank Jones, John Clayton, Frederica Von Stade, Christian Scott, Larry Grenadier, Joshua Redman, Lee Konitz, Steve Nelson, Patti Austin, Johnny Frigo, Keter Betts, Peter Bernstein, Alan Broadbent, Terrell Stafford, Kitty Margolis, and Madeline Eastman among others. He has recorded on albums as a sideman for Julian Lage, Chris Brubeck, The Brubeck Brothers Quartet, Erin Boheme, Anton Schwartz, David Benoit, Danya Stephens, Ben Wendel, Eric Harland, and Gretchen Parlato.

His recent projects include his trio with Eric Harland and Harish Raghavan accompanied by Becca Stevens; these four played on his 2010 album and have been performing together since. Other groups he has played with after 2010 are the Gretchen Parlato Band, the Eric Harland Band and his latest project, Free Agency.

Albums
Eigsti released his first album Tay's Groove at 14. It is an 11-track album featuring standards as well as originals. The album was released independently in 1998 and distributed in Japan by DIW Records. It featured Seward McCain on bass and Dan Brubeck on drums. Eigsti's second album, Live At Filoli, with John Shifflet 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. This again featured Shifflet and Lewis on 11 songs, and the album was released exclusively in Japan by DIW Records. Eigsti's first nationally released album was Renosance, 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. This was followed by Eigsti's major label debut, entitled Lucky To Be Me. It was released on Concord Records in 2006. Lucky To Be Me featured Julian Lage on guitar, Christian McBride on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums. James Genus and Billy Kilson also played bass and drums respectively on many of the tunes. The 12-song album received two Grammy nominations - one for "Best Instrumental Composition" on the album's fifth song, Argument, and the other for "Best Jazz Solo Performance" on track 11, Freedom Jazz Dance. The album met with critical acclaim, but it was also criticized for being uneven and including a funky rendition of The Sopranos' theme song. In 2008 Eigsti put out 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 were 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 Elliot Smith.

Style
Eigsti's style is straightforward swing with elements of bebop, smooth jazz, rock, and classical music. He focuses on melody both in his compositions and improvisation as a way of communicating a story or mood. He primarily performs in a trio format with bass and drums and often will add his long-time friend Julian Lage on guitar. In an interview with Jon Weber on NPR, Eigsti discussed both his hesitation and excitement at further exploring solo piano performance. He said in the album notes of his latest release that his project called "Free Agency" will feature the piano as the third voice in collective compositions with vocalists Becca Stephens and Gretchen Parlato.

Influences
As a youngster, Eigsti was influenced by the contemporary jazz of David Benoit before branching out to the classic greats like Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Gene Harris, and Phineas Newborn, Jr. He also named both Geoff Keezer and Julian Lage as important and significant influence on his playing. Regarding influences outside of jazz, Eigsti has said, "I try to listen to everything, since I think there are geniuses and pure art in every genre. Listening opens me up: the best of opera, or the best of rock, the best of Celtic music or soul—if you listen to the best, you'll get inspired".

As leader

 * Tay's Groove (1998)
 * Taylor's Dream (2000)
 * Live at Filoli (2001)
 * Resonance (2003)
 * Lucky To Be Me (2006)
 * Let It Come To You (2008)
 * Daylight At Midnight (2010)

As sideman

 * Radiant Blue (2006)
 * The Timeless Now (2007)
 * Sounding Point (2009)
 * Voyager: Live By Night (2010)
 * The Lost and Found (2011)
 * Weightless (2011)