Taylor Eigsti is lucky... lucky just to be himself. At the ripe old age of 22, the piano-playing phenom tours internally and has played with many of jazz's luminaries. He has been a faculty member of the Stanford Jazz Workshop at Stanford University since 15 and is an artist-in-residence at the Jazz School in Berkeley, CA. And if that isn't enough, he has five CDs under his belt to boot. Life is good right now for the Menlo Park, CA, native. 

While Eigsti has been tearing up the ivories with style and compelling grit since turning pro at age 8, his stock portfolio just increased in value after being nominated for two Grammy Awards on his recent release, Lucky To Be Me, his debut recording for Concord Records. (See Taylor Eigsti Lucky To Be Me CD) The 49th Annual Grammy Awards will convene on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

"It's definitely really exciting," said Eigsti (pronounced EYE'g-STEE) via telephone from his home in Oakland, CA, upon hearing the news. "I didn't really know what to expect when this kind of stuff happens. I'm sure in a lot of ways it will open some doors. I'm looking at it as another thing that will hopefully allow me to share what I do with more people."

With Grammy nods for Best Instrumental Composition (for his tune, Argument) and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo (on Freedom Jazz Dance), Eigsti faces some tough competition in both categories. In some respects, he may be considered a David amongst Goliaths in the battle for the coveted Grammy. But just the fact that his peer's had nominated him in not only just one category but in two, automatically makes the rising jazz pianist a serious force to be reckoned with.

Also vying for top honors in the Best Instrumental Composition category are fellow label mate Patrick Williams with The Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra and Big Band on A Concerto In Swing from the CD, Elevation; a pair from celebrated composer John Williams on A Prayer For Peace from the soundtrack, Munich (Decca Records), and on Sayuri's Theme And End Credits from the soundtrack, Memoirs Of A Geisha (Sony Classical); and fellow keyboardist Fred Hersch on Valentine from In Amsterdam: Live At The Bimhuis (Palmetto Records).

Other heavy weights in the race for the coveted musical trophy in the Best Jazz Instrumental Solo category are the late saxophonist Michael Brecker on Some Skunk Funk from the album, Some Skunk Funk: Randy Brecker with Michael Brecker (Telarc Jazz/BHM); reedman Paquito D'Rivera on Paq Man from From The Heart with Hilario Duran And His Latin Jazz Big Band (Alma Records); drummer Roy Haynes for his solo on Hippidy Hop from Whereas (Dreyfus Jazz); and saxophonist Brandford Marsalis on Hope from Braggtown (Marsalis Music/Rounder). (See 2007 Grammy Nominations)

"My friends told me that if I win one Grammy, then I would  get to say, 'Grammy Award winner Taylor Eigsti,'" Eigsti said, "then I'd no longer be called a two-time Grammy nominee." (laughs)

In the twelve-track Lucky To Be Me, Eigsti expands his stylistic palette with jazz standards and four originals, encompassing funk, hip-hop, free feels, and swing, thus giving the project a very progressive jazz sound.

On Lucky to Be Me, Eigsti surrounds himself with two world-class rhythm teams: bassist Christian McBride and drummer Lewis Nash on six songs, and bassist James Genus and drummer Billy Kilson on another four. Seventeen-year-old jazz guitar sensation Julian Lage, who is Eigsti’s close friend and collaborator, guests on several tracks. Getting these guest artists on board for the project was a joint agreement between Eigsti's manager, Mary Topper, who is noted for making stars of Diana Krall, Jane Monheit, and Joshua Redman, among others; Al Schmitt, the record's producer; and Eigsti himself.

"From Day One I knew the cast I wanted to be on this project," Eigsti said. "This album took four years to be on the right record label and to be in the right position to all that stuff. Christian (McBride) agreed to be on the record four years before that. It's interesting that it took so much time, which usually is the case. Any estimate of time you think it's going to be involved in putting a record together and getting it out, seems to always take longer."

The Eigsti-McBride-Nash unit embodies the spirit of creative play on John Coltrane's Giant Steps, the set opener, which features the pianist zipping into a lucid, jet-fueled solo, followed by one of equal velocity by McBride. 

The joyful interplay and interaction between the musicians is evident in Get Your Hopes Up (an Eigsti original), which showcases the powerful unit of McBride and Nash, and the playful exchange of ideas between Eigsti and Lage. McBride and Nash next modulate seamlessly between funk and swing beats on Cole Porter's Love for Sale, which Eigsti originally learned on a gig with saxophone great Red Holloway.

A powerful and stately bass solo by McBride introduces Promenade (also known as the first movement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition), on which Eigsti acknowledges his classical training.  McBride uncorks another killer solo as an early interlude on Eigsti’s Adventure 1, a tune that simmers to the crisp pulse of Nash’s hi-hat cymbal that resolves into a dark little groove and climaxes with an impassioned piano solo by the leader.

Working with the Genus-Kilson rhythm team, which Eigsti describes as “one of the most colorful, tasteful, and unique rhythm sections I’ve ever worked with,” the pianist then unleashes his narrative imagination on I’ve Seen It All, Björk’s song from the 2000 movie Dancer in the Dark, in which she starred. Kilson presents a similar blend of finesse and extraordinary power on Argument, Eigsti’s musical take on the general slope of a typical “argument.” The tune is his personal favorite of the session, he said.

"Argument is the most involved tune I have ever written," Eigsti said. "I tried to harmonically map out an 'argument.' I tried to figure out emotionally what was going on when I think about an argument and the shape an argument takes on and the different things the listener hears. In the piece I use some inside musicians' jokes where a tri-tone is used to express dissonance. That tri-tone used to be outlawed back a few hundred years ago because people believed it to be a Satanic interval."

Eigisti also added that there's a "brainy" approach to analyzing the tune.

"I think the cool thing about Argument is that there some emotion there that the listener can feel without sitting down and thinking about what is exactly is going on," Eigsti said.

The jazz sensation's love for compositional writing (he composed over 100 tunes) plays a big and important part of who Eigsti is as a musician, he said.

"I'm always changing stylistically and what I'm into," the keyboard titan said. "I think it's important that it's reflected in my playing and how I approach tunes, but then, compositionally it's very evident. That changes along with it."

The expressive and lilting ballad, True Colors, was co-written by the pianist and his friend, Lage. The duet between piano and guitar is reflective of the deep sensitivity of both musicians.  These two young artists team together again on to bring an element of funkiness to the album on what was originally recorded as the theme song to The Sopranos (HBO), Woke Up This Morning. 

"Julian is really getting things together and pretty soon his day will come to have his own record," Eigsti said of his friend. "I'm going to be involved with him in some fashion as a player or whatever. I just want to help him make the record that he wants. When it comes together, I'm really confident Julian is going to make an amazing record. It's going to be very 'him.' Right now he's concentrating as to what he's hearing musically. He's just being honest with that."

The pianist’s treatment of the Jimmy Van Heusen standard, Darn That Dream, further testifies to his ability to channel primal emotions while telling a musical story, weaving a dark tale through Kilson’s responsive drumming and Genus’s adventurous bass lines, which also form a fast-moving foundation underneath Eigsti’s thunderous solo on Eddie Harris’s explosive jazz standard, Freedom Jazz Dance.

The title track, written by Leonard Bernstein, is reflective of Eigsti's amazing ability as a world-class musician. 

While Eigsti's recording history prior to Lucky To Be Me was on independent labels, he credits his affiliation with Concord Records - a major record label - in helping him to be better recognized by the Recording Arts and Sciences community, he said. 

"Yeah, being with Concord definitely plays into it," Eigsti said. "Concord did a great job in getting my record out there. It's really about the people who do it. They did a really great job in getting the record out there and getting recognition for the record in terms of the merit of the record itself."

Born Sept. 24, 1984, to Steve and Nancy Eigsti, the gifted pianist's introduction to jazz began very, very early in life. When he was 2 years old, he'd cry if he couldn't hear the jazz fusion group, Fatburger, before going to sleep.

Eigsti has been playing the piano since the age of 4, after he was inspired by seeing sister, Shannon, play the piano. Shannon died from a rare form of cancer when he was 3 years old.

If that family tragedy weren't enough, Eigsti's father, who built satellite receivers, died of cancer in 1997.

Eigsti studied jazz piano for over seven years at the Community School of Music and Art in Mountain View, CA, under the supervision of Randy Masters. He took classical lessons once a week with Cole Dalton. Eigsti has credited Masters for having shaped his musical intellect and jazz sense, while Dalton helped his technique, Eigsti said.

Eigsti began his professional career at age 8, playing background music regularly at a local pasta house in Mountain View. Eigsti and his dad saw a sign in the restaurant window that read "Live Jazz."  Eigsti told his father that he had to get him a gig there -  and he did.

Soon after, Eigsti's talent preceded him and he was invited to be the opening act for pianist David Benoit, his early idol, at Sunset Gardens.

Eigsti's interest in Benoit's music came before he ever realized the jazz great did the sound tracks for the piano-playing character of Linus in the Charlie Brown animated features.

Since that initial performance with Benoit, the two have become friends and have played together on various occasions including a performance with the San Jose Symphony, at the annual National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) convention in Los Angeles in February 2000, and at the "Three Generations of Jazz Piano" concert along with piano great Dave Brubeck at the Villa Montalvo Winery in Saratoga, CA, in August 2000.

Eigsti has developed some close ties to Brubeck as well. He recorded a videotape of himself playing Brubeck's Blue Rondo á la Turk that was passed via the agency of one of Brubeck's sons, to Brubeck himself. Some time later, Eigsti was then invited on stage with the Brubeck combo at Villa Montalvo. It prompted Brubeck to make the comment, “Taylor is the most amazing talent I’ve come across. Remember him.”

At 12, Eigsti shared the stage with Diane Schuur and also opened for Diana Krall and Al Jarreau.

At age 14, Eigsti recorded his first CD as a leader with Tay's Groove. Recorded in April 1999, the gifted pianist is joined by Seward McCain on bass and Dan Brubeck on drums. The eleven-track disc features standards by Duke Ellington, Jimmy Van Heusen, Dave Brubeck and Stanley Turrentine. Two Eigsti originals on the project include, The Groovesmith and Pedestrian.

In October 1999, Eigsti entertained President Bill Clinton at a fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee held in Atherton, CA.

In September the following year, Eigsti recorded his second CD, Live At Filoli. The young pianist spent his16th birthday subbing for the legendary Marian McPartland in the Jazz At Filoli series. Eigsti is accompanied on the recording by John Shifflett on bass and Jason Lewis on drums.

In January 2001, Eigsti, Shifflett and Lewis recorded Taylor's Dream, for DIW Records, a Japanese label. The project contains mostly standards that are well-known by musicians but not necessarily well-known by listeners. The album contains two Eigsti originals, Not Knowing and Rolyat's Jam (Rolyat is "Taylor" spelled backwards).

In addition to exhibiting musical excellence, Eigsti's performance in the academic arena was equally impressive. He was an honor student at Woodside Priory in Portola Valley, graduated as Valedictorian of his eighth grade class, and graduated as a salutatorian of his high school class in 2001.

After graduation from high school, Eigsti attended the University of Southern California but left after the first year of study.

"College isn't for everyone," Eigsti said. "It's pretty much a permanent break. I was getting a lot out of just learning from individual people and my peers. There was so much talent there, period. I really felt there was a window of opportunity for me that I didn't want to pass up. It turned out to be 110-percent the right decision for me."

In 2002, Eigsti was signed by independent record label, Bop City. The following year he released his critically acclaim CD, Resonance, with his working trio: Shifflett on bass and Lewis on drums. The album climbed to the Top 5 in National Radio Airplay for several weeks and it received a 4-star review from Down Beat, which stated: “Eigsti is a jazz-piano whirlwind with a light touch, a fluid sense of improvisation and a gift for wrapping his creative flights in solid melodies.” The review went on to laud “the depth of his talent and the titanic possibilities of his career” and predicted that this “may be the sound of a future giant awakening.”

"I had lots of fun making Resonance, especially with the musicians involved," Eigsti recalled. "It was a great experience."

However, since the release of Resonance, Eigsti's music has gone in a very different direction, he said.

"I feel my music has gotten a lot more personal, a lot more of myself that's reflected in Lucky To Be Me," Eigsti said. "This record was a real chance for me to start on that path. It's a big record because I had a big producer. I still had a lot of artistic control; not all of it, but a lot of it. It was a fun project and I'm happy with the results."

In his relatively short career, Eigsti has also worked with such respected jazz artists as James Moody, Bobby Hutcherson, Red Holloway, and Kevin Mahogany. He also made his mark in the classical field, performing with singers Frederica von Stade and Sylvia McNair, as well as with numerous symphonies. He's performed at such upscale venues as Filoli and Villa Montalvo and Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA; the Montgomery Theater in San Jose; the Norwegian Cruise Line's one week Jazz Cruise to the Caribbean; Spazio's in Sherman Oaks, CA; The Jazz Bakery and Steamers, two noted Los Angeles jazz spots; appearances at the Jazz at Ravinia Festival outside of Chicago as well the San Francisco Jazz Festival and Monterey Jazz Festival; return engagements at the Elkhart Jazz Festival in Elkhart, IN; and tours of Japan and Brazil. He has also been featured on Marian McPartland's award-winning NPR program "Piano Jazz" twice and was the featured performer on a live recording with her at the 2004 Tanglewood Jazz Festival; has performed on many different television programs including several features on the BET Jazz Channel; and numerous performances for Jazz Vespers services at Old First Church in San Francisco and at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as a leader and as part of saxophonist Anton Schwartz's quartet.

In December 2005, Eigsti appears on Schwartz's new CD, Radiant Blue, which spent 15 weeks on the Top 40 jazz radio chart, peaking at No. 4.

"Anton's record has done well with air play," Eigsti said. "He's definitely a fun guy to play with and a good friend."

Eigsti also appeared as a featured musician on Nika Rejto's CD, Liquid Love, and made the cover of the November 2006 issue of Jazziz magazine.

As Eigsti's whirlwind continues to gain momentum, he continues to move forward with his music. He's already working on a new recording project, one that will afford him more artistic control, he said.

"I feel so thankful I have the opportunity as an instrumentalist to have a recording contract period and to be in a situation where I have artistic control," he said. "I never take that for granted because I know how hard it is especially the way the music/recording business is right now and jazz in general."

The new work, which Eigsti said could be released as early as fall of this year or in early spring of 2008, is going to have a more personal theme to it as reflected in more original-oriented material.

"I've written out a full official proposal so we'll see what happens," Eigsti said. "The exciting part about all this is that it always changes. You can have a definitive idea and then go into it and the whole thing changes. It's a collective process."

On Feb. 16, Eigsti is scheduled to give a solo piano concert at the Jazz School in Berkeley.

"That should be a lot of fun!" Eigsti said enthusiastically. "The Jazz School is an amazing institution. I don't know of any place in the world where there's a non-university in the middle of downtown Berkeley that's dedicated to teaching people jazz."

Whenever Eigsti is back in town from touring, he takes time out to teach, he said.

"One of may major passions is teaching," he said. "I'm currently writing a book about my teaching methods which are somewhat unconventional, but they work."

For an updated schedule of performances, CD purchases and other information about Eigsti, the keyboardist extraordinaire maintains a web site at www.tayjazz.com   

Come Grammy Awards night, Eigsti will naturally be keeping his fingers crossed, anxiously listening for his name to called to the winners' circle. However, no matter what the outcome may be, gratitude remains a key and integral part of jazz pianist's life. In short, Eigsti is just lucky to be himself.

"I'm very lucky to be in the situation that I'm in, given some things that have happened to me in the past," Eigsti said. "I'm so lucky to have music. This next record I'm working on is about letting go and knowing that I don't really have control over life. i can be happy with myself and whatever happens will work itself out. This whole last year has been about learning that - not having control over things and surprising myself by moving back to the Bay Area. Things have turned out really well."