Pianist Taylor Eigsti burst on the scene as a youngster, recording his first album at 14. His first nationally released album was Resonance, recorded in 2003 and peaking at No. 5 in national jazz radio airplay. As a leader, he’s released seven albums and appeared on more than 50 albums as a sideman. Eigsti has garnered multiple individual Grammy Award nominations over the years for his both his playing and composing. He co-wrote a featured composition with actor and musician Don Cheadle for the 2017 Grammy-winning soundtrack to the motion picture Miles Ahead, starring Cheadle.
In May, he will release his latest album, A Tree Falls, which was recorded just prior to the pandemic. Today, Taylor Eigsti joins Ross Boissoneau to discuss career-shaping albums by John Coltrane, Bjork and Brad Mehldau:
JOHN COLTRANE – THE 1962 GRAZ CONCERT (2009): This album is incredible, and I first heard it when it was a bootleg that had been floating around. One piece in particular on this that fundamentally changed the way I play and improvise on the piano is John Coltrane’s solo on “Autumn Leaves.” I think it was one of the only times, at least on a recording, where Coltrane played that tune with that quartet (Jimmy Garrison, McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones), and it’s one of only five solos I’ve ever transcribed in my lifetime. The way that Coltrane danced around different registers, and built up the solo with such an extreme passion was something that I wanted to try to study and emulate on the piano, and it changed the way I wanted to approach the instrument after hearing this for the first time in my early 20s. I think most of my own development as a musician has been an assimilation of a lot of different influences and moments, but maybe none bigger than studying that one solo. This is just one of many incredible recorded statements by that quartet, but the passion on this set of music makes me want to cry or punch a wall. To me, the playing on this record is the epitome of playing like it’s your last gig ever – leaving everything on the stage and giving your whole self to the music and the present moment. I could listen to this album a million times and feel rejuvenated every time. Epic recording.
BJORK – VESPERTINE (2001): My favorite album by one of my favorite artists of all time. This is one of the few recordings that I have probably listened to close to a thousand times. Every tune on this means something to me. The way Bjork expresses and phrases melodies, the lush orchestration, the unique textures – everything on this album is so well put together. This greatly influenced me by defining what I love to hear, and also greatly influenced the way that I compose and arrange for orchestra. Vince Mendoza’s incredible arrangements complement Bjork’s voice and all of the unique sonic textures created by Matmos, so well. I have a hard time just casually listening to this album these days, because even hearing one tune sends me down the full wormhole all over again, and it’s something that I love so dearly that once I’m reminded of this music it’s hard to listen to anything else for a while.
BRAD MEHLDAU – LARGO (2002): This album redefined for me what it means for a jazz pianist to release an album of original music. Brad Mehldau took incredible risks in making this album, as it ventures into woodwind orchestration and rock influences, and really created something original and unlike any other album I had heard. I was very inspired by this album and my own musical concept and compositional ideas are greatly influenced by this album in many ways. This album is also, in my opinion, sequenced as perfectly as an album could be. It starts with the tune “When it Rains,” which is heartbreakingly beautiful, and sets an incredible tone that flows through the rest of the album. Hearing this album gave me a similar feeling to when NASA revealed the first hi-res photograph of the surface of Pluto in 2015, revealing something brand new that had such a powerful clarity and beauty. This album is the perfect soundtrack to just about any life situation, or hour-long car drive to anywhere.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO NOW: Becca Stevens, Wonderbloom. Becca is someone of whom I first became a fan on MySpace in 2006 when I heard her debut album Tea Bye Sea, and I’ve continued to be a massive fan ever since. I’ve been extremely fortunate to also get to work with her on a number of projects throughout the years and become great friends and musical collaborators. All of her albums with her band are astonishingly great and so well-produced as well – and her newest one, released this past year, might actually be my favorite of all of them. She collaborated with an amazing team of musicians on this album, layered all sorts of unique keyboard textures, and really created something that sounds like nothing else. I think one of the most mind-blowingly beautiful tracks is “Heather’s Letters to Her Mother,” which makes such a powerful statement near the end of the album. All of her writing is magnificent and fresh throughout the entire album. I highly recommend Wonderbloom for anyone who wants to be blown away and moved. Becca’s my friend, but my sincerely un-biased opinion is that this is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard in my life.
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