Kate Reid - The Heart Already Knows

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:33
Size: 109,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:41)  1. Something to Live For
(3:11)  2. Confessin'
(3:15)  3. No More
(3:52)  4. Two Grey Rooms
(3:10)  5. Stars
(6:57)  6. Busy Being Blue
(4:46)  7. Just a Lucky so and So
(3:58)  8. Secret o' Life
(4:54)  9. If I Should Lose You
(5:12) 10. Minds of Their Own
(3:33) 11. Lazin' Around

The honest communication between two musicians in a performance setting can result in a very intimate and personal performance. This record features jazz vocalist Kate Reid with pianists Fred Hersch, Taylor Eigsti and guitarists Romero Lubambo, Paul Meyers and Larry Koonse. The material highlights Kate Reid in various 'feels' including swing, samba, bossa, ballad and contemporary. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/katereid13

Personnel:  Kate Reid vocals;  Paul Meyers guitar (1,7);  Larry Koonse guitar (2,4);  Fred Hersch piano (3,9,11);  Romero Lubambo guitar (5,10);  Taylor Eigsti piano (6,8)

The Heart Already Knows

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The Brubeck Brothers Quartet - Intuition

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:53
Size: 171,4 MB
Art: Front

(7:42)  1. West Of One
(8:48)  2. Sahara Moon
(9:08)  3. Parade Du Funk
(8:36)  4. Bullwinkle's Revenge
(9:18)  5. Still As Winter
(9:03)  6. Open Door
(6:23)  7. Jump Up, Get Down
(6:58)  8. Easy For You To Pray
(3:54)  9. Change Up

The prospect of reviewing an all-original release can strike apprehension if not actual fear in a critic's heart. With the growing ease of self-production, it's increasingly likely that such recordings will be monuments to tuneless self-indulgence.This is one reason why Intuition is such a treat: the compositions are not only fresh, melodic and memorable, but they're rendered with sublime expertise and considerable joy. From guitarist Mike DeMicco's swinging "West of One" through the tipsy second-line groove of "Parade du Funk" and the jubilant "Jump Up, Get Down" and "Change Up," jazz doesn't get any jollier than this.The music is laced with the intriguingly lopsided meters one would expect from Dave Brubeck's children. Moreover, Chris, who has a blessedly impeccable tone on fretless bass, shows considerable wit in his use of slide and vibrato on both guitar and trombone. Dan's cowbell provides its own sly humor, although his drum chops are as serious as they ever get.

Mike DeMicco supplies fine guitar work and two compositions that blend nicely with Brubeck's seven, while Pete Levin adds his churning B3 to three of them. Then there's the dazzling precocity of pianist Taylor Eigsti: just a young teenager when this was recorded, he's already consistently fluid and creative, and his ballad playing on "Still as Winter" is understated and gorgeous.To these ears, the standout track is the evocative and mysterious "Sahara Moon," where the dynamics shift and build as smoothly as desert sand. (Note: although the tune is a mix of jazz and funk, it also helps explain why Chris Brubeck is in such demand as a symphonic composer.) In sum, this recording lives up to the full possibilities of originality: crisply recorded, organically paced and beautifully played, it's a unique and sparkling delight. 

~ Dr Judith Schlesinger https://www.allaboutjazz.com/intuition-brubeck-brothers-quartet-koch-international-jazz-review-by-dr-judith-schlesinger.php

Personnel: Dan Brubeck: drums; Chris Brubeck: fretless bass, bass trombone; Mike DeMicco: guitar; Taylor Eigsti: piano; Pete Levin: organ.

Intuition

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Taylor Eigsti Trio - Taylor's Dream

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:18
Size: 133,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:25)  1. Ever So Easy
(5:25)  2. Tokyo Blues
(4:57)  3. Bolivia
(5:05)  4. Not Knowing
(3:57)  5. Goodbye Pork Pie Head
(6:48)  6. Meditation
(3:11)  7. Cheryl
(5:57)  8. A Bientot
(5:09)  9. Rolyat's Jam
(6:21) 10. In Your Own Sweet Way
(5:59) 11. Quiet Now

Menlo Park's Taylor Eigsti is the latest in a line of young hotshot pianists who know the jazz book well. They can quote line and verse from Horace Silver, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, Billy Taylor, and Dave Brubeck and play the music by rote, adding small touches of personality along the way. Eigsti is one of these kids, with one important distinction: His treatment of material from the fake book is not littered with small individual flourishes he reads these works through his individuality and his truly amazing melodic sensibilities. Eigsti, along with his band featuring John Shifflet on bass and Jason Lewis on drums, takes material from all these sources, adds a Jobim tune, Cedar Walton's challenging "Bolivia," and a couple of originals, and burns the joint down lyrically of course. There is no false academic flash in Eigsti's playing listen to him tear up the changes in Silver's "Tokyo Blues" it's all heart and an unbelievably adept sense of timing. It's true that he plays a hell of a lot of notes, almost as many as Oscar Peterson, but not on every tune and not in every solo. This is youth feeling its oats. On "Bolivia," he plays the mode against the blues mood and makes the drummer double time him, turning the Latin rhythm into a sweat fest. Other standouts include his read of "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," in which he actually adds something emotionally to the piece; his intervals come off like lightning, and his solo against Shifflet's bass is a complex harmonic journey of skeletal chords and triplets played in slow motion. Elsewhere, Jobim's "Meditation" is a study in shade and subtle colors. Timbral shifts occur seamlessly and often; the melody is played off against itself as if Eigsti was searching for Jobim's thoughts and feelings when he wrote the tune. But it's Eigsti's strength as a composer that really sets him apart from the crowd. Like Brad Mehldau, his sense of harmony is rich, warm, and chock-full of shapes and tones, and he exercises it without restraint on "Not Knowing," a blues-based ballad that is reminiscent of Bill Evans both in composition and playing style. The large chords are graced by a whispering right hand that slides down the keyboard to the next set of changes. One can only hope that a stateside label decides to sign this kid and put out his records over here. This is an auspicious a debut album as you are likely to find anywhere. ~ Thom Jurek http://www.allmusic.com/album/taylors-dream-mw0000002680

Personnel:  Piano – Taylor Eigsti;  Bass – John Shifflett;  Drums – Jason Lewis

Taylor's Dream

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Taylor Eigsti - Daylight at Midnight

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:03
Size: 128,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:56)  1. Daylight
(6:39)  2. Magnolia
(4:56)  3. The Art Teacher
(5:31)  4. The Water
(3:28)  5. Pink Moon
(4:18)  6. Little Bird
(3:03)  7. Secreto
(4:41)  8. Chaos
(4:00)  9. Between the Bars
(7:36) 10. Speaking Song
(5:50) 11. Midnight After Noon

It's official: pianist Taylor Eigsti has finally outgrown his "prodigy" label.  At 26, with two Concord CDs and numerous sideman recordings behind him, Eigsti has finally made the artistic statement he's intended since his career began at the age of 11. Raised on the American songbook, and indoctrinated early into concerns about the continued viability of jazz, Eigsti has always wanted to create new audiences by embracing the favorite material of the iPod generation. In his previous CDs he has covered Hacke Bjorksten and The Gels, as well as recording his own "Fallback Plan Suite," in three movements, on Let it Come to You (Concord, 2008). With Daylight at Midnight, Eigsti goes even further, not only interpreting contemporary artists like Coldplay, Rufus Wainwright, MuteMath and Imogen Heap, but featuring a vocalist for the first time: the transcendentally pure and soulful Becca Stevens, with whom he wrote two of the songs. He also plays with the instrumentation adding Fender Rhodes, Rhodes PianoBass, electric piano and Melliotron samples and mixes the terrific trio tracks (with bassist Harash Rhagavan and drummer Eric Harland) with a duo featuring long-time colleague and friend, the wonderful guitarist Julian Lage. Eigsti's powerful technique always informs his playing, but on this recording the spotlight is on his musical range. Especially notable is the one solo track ("Secreto"), which is simple and elegant, yet deeply moving a difficult combination for players of any age. For the rest, however unfamiliar Eigsti's selections may be to a jazz audience, his love for melody and his deep and expanding artistry are always evident. The side effect of introducing jazz to a younger audience is to introduce the, well, more mature audience to the newer material. It works so beautifully both ways that Daylight at Midnight may finally make Taylor Eigsti as widely-known as he deserves to be, as consummate player, composer, and now songwriter and ambassador as well. ~ Dr Judith Schlesinger https://www.allaboutjazz.com/daylight-at-midnight-taylor-eigsti-concord-music-group-review-by-dr-judith-schlesinger.php

Personnel: Taylor Eigsti: piano, rhythm piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer electric piano, Melliotron samples; Harish Raghavan: acoustic and electric bass; Eric Harland: drums; Julian Lage: guitars; Becca Stevens: vocals.

Daylight at Midnight

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Taylor Eigsti Trio - Resonance

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:18
Size: 143,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:11)  1. Got a Match?
(3:20)  2. Juliette
(3:46)  3. Oleo
(6:40)  4. Angel Eyes
(5:44)  5. Avolation
(6:40)  6. Somewhere
(7:20)  7. Love Dance
(5:36)  8. Uncle Smith
(4:50)  9. Cubano Chant
(7:43) 10. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
(6:24) 11. Introspection

People who claim "jazz is dead," or that its only true practitioners are dying off, can be very tiresome. This CD also proves them, well, dead wrong. Taylor Eigsti (IKES-dee), just 19 years old, is eager to carry the torch into the next century and what's more, he's doing it. He opened for David Benoit at age 8, played with Dave Brubeck at 13, and joined the teaching staff of the Stanford Jazz Workshop at 15. Eigsti has already opened for Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Al Jarreau, and Hank Jones. His trio has played widely in his native California, including the Monterey Jazz Festival (at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, they played under the banner of "Rising Strars."). Resonance , Eigsti's first truly wide release, showcases his incredible technique, enthusiasm and imagination. The lightning parallel runs on the blazing opener Chick Corea's "Got a Match?" would be dazzling in a pianist of any age. So would the impeccable, rousing stride piano on "Oleo," the sizzle on Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant," and the assured swing on "Things Ain't What They Used To Be." 

But this is no infant savant: Eigsti shows taste and feeling in his choices, knows how to build a solo, and is a gifted composer as well (for example, "Avolation" brings jazz squarely into the 21st century, while restoring its original mandate as "danceable music," and his tribute to his "Uncle Smith" is thoughtful and lovely). It's hard to pick highlights on this CD, where a reharmonized, 7/4 "Angel Eyes" gains mystery while chestnuts "Love Dance" and "Somewhere" get a new shine. Eigsti's favorite comrades (John Shifflett and Jason Lewis) are wonderful throughout; at the recording session, the trio created the sly, bluesy groove that became "Juliette." I had the pleasure of meeting Eigsti on last year's S/S Maasdam jazz cruise, and it was refreshing to encounter a young pianist with more talent than attitude. Salutatorian of his high school class, he's a relaxed and engaging young man who is miraculously unspoiled. His career plans include introducing jazz to his own generation, which too often confuses the "smooth" with the real thing if they think of it at all. Since this record came out last month, Eigsti's been scheduled to tape an NPR "Piano Jazz" program with Marian McPartland. By all reports, Eigsti has grown a great deal since he recorded this CD. I can't wait to see him on this year's cruise and hear where he is now. Highly recommended. ~ Dr.Judith Schlesinger https://www.allaboutjazz.com/resonance-taylor-eigsti-bop-city-records-review-by-dr-judith-schlesinger.php

Personnel: Taylor Eigsti: piano; John Shifflett: bass; Jason Lewis: drums.

Resonance

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Anton Schwartz - Flash Mob

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:57
Size: 159,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:08)  1. Flash Mob
(5:09)  2. Swamp Thang
(7:47)  3. Cumulonimbus
(6:48)  4. Pangur Ban
(6:33)  5. Alleybird
(7:52)  6. Spurious Causes
(7:19)  7. La Mesha
(4:28)  8. Epistrophy
(6:07)  9. Glass Half Missing
(4:12) 10. The Contender
(4:29) 11. Dawn Song

No matter how sophisticated his writing or wide-ranging his solos, Bay Area tenor saxophonist and composer Anton Schwartz never strays far from the verities of hard-bop blues and roots on his fifth album, Flash Mob. Even his quintet’s cover of Thelonious Monk’s “Epistrophy” rides on a second-line rhythm. “Swamp Thang,” meanwhile, is the sweetest, fastest medium-tempo boogaloo you’d want to hear this side of “Watermelon Man.” The opening, title track at first sounds like a typical minor-mode hard-bop flagwaver. But pianist Taylor Eigsti accelerates his solo to a furious tempo with bassist John Shifflett and drummer Lorca Hart weaving a dense pattern of counter rhythms alongside him. Eigsti lays down a beautiful variety of patterns before Schwartz’s solo takes things down for more spare ruminations.

Schwartz also knows how to leave space in his songs. “Cumulonimbus” changes shapes by alternating a rubato theme with a driving 3/4 bridge, and offers a short, rhapsodic unaccompanied passage from Eigsti. On the slow blues “Alleybird,” trumpeter Dominick Farinacci takes the first solo with just bass accompaniment before Eigsti joins in and the piece assumes a gospel fervor. Just about all of these songs have the kind of shapely themes you can imagine other players wanting to cover. In fact, Schwartz’s tempo-shifting “Spurious Causes” is a good match for “La Mesha,” the Kenny Dorham ballad that follows it. There are other pleasures, such as the complementary styles of Schwartz and Farinacci, the former ardent and gritty, the latter dark-hued and lyrical. But for everybody here, the tune’s the thing. Which is another good lesson from hard-bop. 

~ Jon Garelick  http://antonjazz.com/reviews/downbeat-flash-mob/

Personnel: Anton Schwartz: tenor saxophone; Dominick Farinacci: trumpet & flugelhorn; Taylor Eigsti: piano; John Shiffet: bass; Lorca Hart: drums.

Flash Mob

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Taylor Eigsti - Lucky To Be Me

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 58:47
Size: 134.6 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[5:11] 1. Giant Steps
[5:07] 2. Get Your Hopes Up
[3:11] 3. Love For Sale
[5:28] 4. I've Seen It All
[4:29] 5. Argument
[4:29] 6. True Colors
[5:34] 7. Woke Up This Morning
[5:32] 8. Promenade
[6:52] 9. Adventure One
[4:49] 10. Darn That Dream
[4:52] 11. Freedom Jazz Dance
[3:07] 12. Lucky To Be Me

It must indeed be a lucky thing to be Taylor Eigsti, a 21-year-old pianist who has already been performing for over a decade. After a handful of independent discs comes his Concord debut, Lucky to Be Me, a collection of originals, standards and unexpected interpretations featuring bassist Christian McBride, drummer Lewis Nash and guitarist Julian Lage.

From the very top, his reharmonized arrangement of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" bears all the indications of a mature talent with an adventurous spirit. The cohesiveness of the assembled musicians is instantly apparent as they blow through the "new" changes with frenetic grace. Eigsti also contributes three originals. "Get Your Hopes Up" is a breezy up-tempo tune with a strong Latin inflection and an alternating two chord major/minor vamp that allows the pianist to stretch out. "Argument" is aptly titled and fitfully executed with bassist James Genus and drummer Billy Kilson. Although the hyperactive syncopation and licks-per-minute rate is fairly high, the Fender Rhodes solo offers a nice contrast to the otherwise difficult ensemble workout. The lightness of his touch certainly counterbalances the gravity of his phrasing throughout the disc, and his third composition, "Adventure One," takes his technical abilities to expressive heights. McBride's bass solo is a highlight.

Both rhythm sections on this album sound relaxed and comfortable, and the addition of guitarist Julian Lage offers a pleasing extension of Eigsti's natural affinity for strong melody. The choice of material and tight arrangements make me look forward to future releases by this young talent. Although not an earth-shattering opus, Lucky to Be Me is nonetheless a worthy endeavor that should attract listeners who are curious about a new voice in jazz with something original to say. We'll keep listening. ~Ken Kase

Taylor Eigsti: piano; Christian McBride, James Genus: bass; Lewis Nash, Billy Kilson: drums; Julian Lage: guitar; Greg Adams: trumpet; Eric Marienthal: alto saxophone; Adam Schroeder: baritone sax; Garrett Smith: trombone; Brian Swartz: trumpet; Ben Wendel: tenor sax.

Lucky To Be Me

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