Pianist Taylor Eigsti’s sound is fed by the emotional range of life.
By:Susan Van Dongen
These kids today think they’re so smart.
Blame it on technology, mothers playing Mozart in utero, math studies in day care, perhaps even the position of the outer planets or the phenomenon of super-clever Indigo Children. Every day it seems a new whiz kid inventors, business leaders, creative types comes to the public’s attention. Extraordinarily talented jazz and classical musicians get younger and younger and take the world by storm while we of a certain age hunt for our glasses when they’re perched on the top of our heads.
Take pianist Taylor Eigsti, for example. Just 21 years old and he’s already a veteran on the jazz scene, collaborating with youthful forces of nature such as bassist Christian McBride as well as jazz sages like Dave Brubeck. Mr. Eigsti titled his debut release Lucky to Be Me (Concord). Sounds a little smug, but indeed Mr. Eigsti is lucky to be himself. In reality, he’s down-to-earth and accessible. A Californian, his record company posed him and his piano on the beach for striking publicity photos. Maybe like Beach Boy Brian Wilson, Mr. Eigsti likes to play and compose with his feet in the sand.
Celebrating the release of the new CD, Mr. Eigsti will be at McCarter Theatre in Princeton March 27, opening for Joshua Redman and the SFJAZZ Collective, featuring Bobby Hutcherson and Nicholas Payton.
Turns out the title of Mr. Eigsti’s new CD isn’t his way of patting himself on the back, but is borrowed from a ballad by Leonard Bernstein, which is the final cut on the album and something the pianist likes to close his shows with.
"I’ve been through a lot of extreme emotions in my life the highest and the lowest and ‘lucky to be me’ reminds me that despite everything else, I have music," he says. "And that makes me an incredibly fortunate person."
The evening of music will probably reflect the eclectic scope of the CD, which has Mr. Eigsti trying his hand at a little bit of everything, from originals, to classics like "Love for Sale." There’s also "Woke Up This Morning," the theme to The Sopranos, and "I’ve Seen it All" by Icelandic artist Bjork.
"That’s one of my favorite songs," Mr. Eigsti says. "It’s from the film ‘Dancer in the Dark.’ In the movie, her character is going blind and the song, which is very somber, is about coming to terms with it. That’s a deep tune and I wanted to see what I could do instrumentally with it.
"I’m a big fan of Bjork’s," he continues. "She’s really deep, in fact I think she’s a genius. There’s some stuff of hers you can explain and some you can’t. She’s like Wayne Shorter in that sometimes you love (the music) and don’t have to understand it. Her songs are esoteric you can listen to them 200 times and find something new every time."
With help from Mr. McBride on bass and drummer Lewis Nash, Lucky to Be Me comes out of the starting gate like a thoroughbred on Red Bull. The trio launches the recording with John Coltrane’s "Giant Steps," just one of the jet-fueled tracks on the album.
"Christian (McBride) absolutely nailed those changes," Mr. Eigsti says. "Besides being incredibly fast, it’s amazing how much music he makes, how thoroughly he develops a statement."
Mr. Eigsti began piano lessons at age 4 in honor of his sister, Shannon, a talented pianist who had died the year before.
"I was inspired by my sister I wanted to follow in her footsteps," he says. "I really liked the idea of jazz, though, I liked the idea of people making it up on the spot and grew into it right away."
By age 8, Mr. Eigsti was opening for his friend and mentor, jazz pianist David Benoit. At 12, he shared the stage with Diane Schuur and opened for Diana Krall and Al Jarreau. The next year, he sat in with Mr. Brubeck, who has become like a musical father.
"I’ve had some great experiences, met people who have been great mentors," Mr. Eigsti says. "Dave Brubeck has been someone I can look up to, someone who has given me guidance and friendship. I often play with his two sons and their band. I’m really close to that whole family."
Being involved in so much music at such a tender age and becoming known as a "young jazz pianist" doesn’t seem to have affected Mr. Eigsti negatively, the way being a child actor can be a stumbling block to a serious career as an actor.
"It gave me a great outlet," he says. "Since I was tagged as a prodigy, it gives people (the motivation) to listen to you, but it can also color you. Now people take my music more seriously. Whether they like it or not, I’d rather have them judge (my work) as music and not see it through a filter."
Aside from the musicians and composers on the CD that he names as favorites, Mr. Eigsti doesn’t get too specific about his influences, saying that they continue to evolve.
"When I was younger, they were more out of the contemporary jazz (genre)," he says. "Smooth jazz is what I was originally into, then I started listening to Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson and I tried to be as eclectic as possible. Stylistically, right now it’s straight-ahead jazz, mixed with funk, hip-hop and classical. I think what you listen to is what eventually keeps coming out so I try to keep that as broad as possible."
Things seem to be unfolding and progressing nicely in his career, so no regrets about being single-minded. If jazz piano had not worked out, though, there’s one other thing in life Mr. Eigsti would like to have pursued football.
"It’s my second passion in life," he says. "If I had made that choice, I would have gone in that direction, but probably more like being a coach. In fact, I coach a (local school) team now. Football is very similar to improvisation, in the ways that you’re trying to immediately, spontaneously react to things. It’s like playing in a group."
Taylor Eigsti will open for Joshua Redman and the SFJAZZ Collective at McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place, Princeton, March 27, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $37-$40, $7 student standing room available. For information, call (609) 258-2787. On the Web: www.mccarter.org. Taylor Eigsti on the Web: www.tayjazz.com