Taylor Eigsti©Devin Dehaven

He's the most amazing talent I've ever come across. Remember him." -- Dave Brubeck

From his earliest interest in the piano as a toddler to his public debut opening for David Benoit at age 8 and throughout his teens when he shared the stage with Diane Schuur and Dave Brubeck, Taylor Eigsti has been on a star trajectory, a path that too often ends when a “child prodigy” enters the more competitive, complex world of adult artist. But Taylor was already entering that more demanding world before high school graduation, releasing his first CD at 14, joining the Stanford Jazz Workshop faculty at 15, and opening for the likes of Diana Krall, Al Jarreau and Hank Jones. Since, he as twice appeared on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, was twice recognized by the DownBeat Critics’ Poll, and graced the covers of Jazziz and Keyboard Magazine. Celebrating the release of his sixth recording, Let It Come to You (Concord), 23-year-old Taylor Eigsti hopes he’s finally proven himself worthy of both praise and criticism on the basis of his music. “If someone dislikes my music, I would prefer that they not chalk it up to ‘age,’ and rather judge me on what I am offering within the music alone… I am going to be developing, learning, and growing older throughout my whole life, and I would never say that all of a sudden I'm at the age where I should be taken seriously, because I always took the music seriously myself.” On June 16th, Eigsti and his trio will seriously perform at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis with sets at 7 and 9:30 pm.

Taylor Eigsti (pronounced Ikes-Dee) has experienced more ups and downs than most young adults, both challenging and affirming events and encounters that have informed his music and his perspective on art and life. Growing up in Menlo Park, California, he was surrounded by a family committed to music. His mother had taken piano lessons as a child, his father played drums in high schools and in his own jazz trio. And his paternal grandmother taught piano lessons in Illinois. Taylor’s older sister Shannon started piano lessons at age four and developed a prodigious talent herself, leading her high school jazz band and appearing on a Doobie Brothers album (Cycles). But when Taylor was only three, Shannon’s life and promising career were cut short by cancer at 17, which would later claim his father nine years later.

Eric Harland©Andrea Canter

One of the strong influences that pulled Taylor toward straight-ahead jazz was his first encounter with the music of Art Tatum. Soon he was digging into the repertoires of Oscar Peterson, Phineas Newborne, Gene Harris, and younger artists a mere generation removed from Taylor himself, like Benny Green and particularly Geoffrey Keezer.

Early in his studies, Taylor received instruction in jazz; he took classical lessons weekly through high school as well. “I was very privileged to start working with an amazing classical teacher, Cole Dalton, when I was about 12,” says Taylor, “and he really made me invest in developing a technique that would give me a lot of options. While he was teaching me classical technique, he taught it in such a way that could apply to improvising easily - not the most conventional approach.” At about the same time, young Eigsti became a student at the famed Stanford Jazz Workshop. His talent was such that, within a few years, he was invited to join the Stanford faculty. But despite his obvious talent, Taylor recalled in an All About Jazz interview that he was not pushed to go any farther than he wanted to, that his parents “wouldn't have made me take lessons if my heart wasn't in it…I think if you have too much of the crazy prodigy stuff, that's just asking for a shutdown later on. I've had a nice, gradual incline of exposure, and I've enjoyed it that way.”

Julian Lage©Andrea Canter

CD Release, Let It Come to You

Now he is six recordings into a career he sees as fueled as much by pain as joy. “You get a lot of experience through pain,” he told All About Jazz. “Because of what I've experienced, I think I have a lot of emotional ability to bring to the musical table. I want people to be able to see that, that it's not just child's play.” And at whatever age his career is considered, Taylor Eigsti has made it clear that his music is a serious business. One need look no farther than his new release, Let It Come To You.

reuben Rogers©Andrea Canter

Lucky to be in the audience— let Taylor Eigsti come to you, at the Dakota on June 16th!

 In the Twin Cities, catch the Taylor Eigsti Trio at the Dakota Jazz Club on June 16th, 7 and 9:30 pm (www.dakotacoooks.com). More on Taylor Eigsti at www.tayjazz.com. Quotes from liner notes, 2004 All About Jazz interview and April 2008 Jazz Police interview.  For a full bio and complete interview, visit www.jazzink.com (see Musicians/Interviews)