Pianist/composer Taylor Eigsti's Lush and Challenging Musical Suite: "Plot Armor"

Taylor Eigsti: Plot Armor: GroundUP Music

The pianist/composer Taylor Eigsti released his latest album Plot Armor on March 1, 2024, and it promises to give the reflective listener a lot of good music to listen to and savor. Eigsti is a thirty-nine-year-old product of the San Francisco Bay Area. Considered a prodigy, Eigsti has been studying piano from the age of four. Despite having a brief stint of formal education at Southern California's Thorton School of Music, Eigsti's plunge into pursuing his professional musical career has proven to be an example of where learning by doing with the right people can still be incredibly fruitful. Quickly establishing himself as a New York-based pianist, Eigsti has been prolific and has released seven albums as a leader and over fifty albums as a sideman. He contributed a composition to the Donald Cheadle Grammy Winning Soundtrack for the film "Miles Ahead" and in 2022 his album Tree Falls won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. In the world of jazz, his pianistic talents have been part of Terrence Blanchard's E-Collective, Kendrick Scott's Oracle, Eric Harland's Voyage, and groups led by Gretchen Parlato and Chris Botti. Eigsti, a versatile talent, has performed composed and orchestrated music in the classical, chamber music, and vocal/orchestral worlds as well, working with the New York Philharmonic, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony to name just a few. 

Taylor Eigsti's pianistic style is surely influenced by the jazz tradition, but he has absorbed the experiences of playing in so many diverse scenarios-classical, comping for vocalists, Chamber settings, jazz combinations, film scoring- that his music is a creative amalgamation of these multiple approaches to sound creativity. Within the execution of his own improvisational excursions, he never fails to tell the listener a story. He is gifted with remarkable facility and a sense of creative harmonic imagination.

Eigsti's Plot Armor released on Ground UP Music, utilizes a diverse choice of bandmates to tell his challenging musical story. The album features twelve titles, all but one, Rodgers and Hart's "Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered," are Eigsti's original compositions. 

The title Plot Armor is a reference used in literature where a character can experience and survive an almost unbelievable barrage of attempts at being foiled by injury, deception, or death but yet survives against all odds because the character is so essential to the story. James Bond, Ian Fleming's fictional counterintelligence agent who seemingly dismisses all attempts to be stopped, is an example of a character who possesses Plot Armor. Now, let us juxtapose a daring and exploratory musician like Taylor Eigsti. The path to creating inventive music, music that avoids the well-worn trails of rehashing what has come before it, might be likewise daring, full of trials, danger, and tribulations, and for what purpose?. By arming himself with his imagination, his own formidable talent, and a mind-whirling cadre of superb and like-minded musicians, might not Eighsti just achieve his own Plot Armor here and if doing so find his purpose? If so, with this release, he has certainly produced a piece of work worth paying attention to.

The album is in some respects a continuation of his previously released Tree Falls, this time with more players and greater detailed orchestration. Eigsti's experiment with the concept of using two parallel bands follows in the steps of others like Ornette Coleman's Double Quartet, although unlike Coleman he doesn't use double instrumentation on any one composition within the album. His enlarged tapestry of colors includes two saxophonists Ben Wendel and Dayna Stephens; two guitarists Charlie Altura and Julian Lage; two bassists Harish Raghavan and David DJ Ginyard, two drummers Kendrick Scott and Oscar Seaton, Jr. three vocalists Lisa Fischer, Gretchen Parlatto and Becca Stevens, flutist Rebecca Kleinmann, keyboardist Maya Kronfeld, the trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard and a splendid string section made up of Stephanie Yu, Corinne Sobolewski, Mia Barcia-Colombo and Jules Levy. The album is a lush and challenging production that took seventy days to record and mix. The result is impressive.

Taylor Eigsti (photo credit unknown)

The opening "Let You Bee" features Altura's repeating fingerpicking entry and a driving tight drum line laid down by I suspect Kendrick Scott. Eighsti skillfully weaves the swelling string section into his kinetic piano work, Altura's ethereal and almost relentless electric guitar lines soar, and some synth keyboard accents by Kronfeld add to the mix. The orchestration erupts with an organic pulse, a hive-like hum inspired by a relentless Bee that wouldn't leave the composer alone one day, and he gives the listener a taste of what it sounds like when nature is mimicked by art.

Like many of his compositions, Eigsti's "Buckets of F's" has another tongue-in-cheek title. He says it represents the celebration of chaos and challenges which may lead to the "Fs"( frustrations)?  This one is carried by a syncopated line that drives the music with an almost frenzied pace. Precisely and synchronously played piano, keys, guitar, sax, bass, viola, and drums trace each other's lines with frantic accuracy. The music extends into a complex ascending line that opens into a joyous bridge that features Ben Wendel's blaring saxophone, some viola work by Benjamin von Gutzeit, and is accentuated by the string section and some delightful flute lines by Kleinmann. Eighsti's piano flows with inspirational verve, excitement, and beauty. Wendel's solo is a powerhouse of inspiration intertwining with Eighsti's relentless piano over a drum-driven fade to the coda.

"Look Around You" is a haunting ballad that was adapted from Eigsti's "Imagine Our Future" which premiered back in 2022. It adds a distinctively folk/jazz quality to the set. It features Becca Steven's expressive voice, what is probably  Dayna Stephens' on tenor, Eigsti's gorgeous piano, and airy flute work by Kleinmann. 

The title track "Plot Armor" opens with a bass line by David Ginyard and has a cinematic feel to it with some layered sounds of the Andrew Balogh arranged string section, Maya Kornfeld's keyboard support work, drums by Oscar Seaton Jr., and probing guitar stream by Charlie Altura, along with a neo-classical-inspired piano work by Eigsti that just explodes with life. There is a dense but subtle richness to this music. The drum line changes time and Kleinmann's flute floats in the air as the music reaches its apex and the Seaton's drum work punctuates the trip.

"Light Dream" is a slow, eloquent meditation that honors Wayne Shorter who passed in March of 2022. It opens with Eigsti's expressive piano and Blanchard's plaintive trumpet sound. A musical ode to contemplation and clarity. Inspiration the pianist received from Shorter's approach to music.

The blue-tinged ballad "Fire Within" has lyrics that were taken from words  penned by Eigsti 's mother Nancy, who passed away two weeks before the album was set to be recorded. Vocalist Lisa Fischer lends her talents to bring this strong performance to life with her soulful grit. Guitarist Julian Lage adds his own distinctive string magic to the take.  

"The Rumor" is a two-minute musical miniature that opens with a moving string section entre, some moving violin work, and Eigsti's lush piano. 

This orchestrated suite continues with "Actually." Eigsti has a wide palette on which to express his expanding musical concepts. His arrangements are expansive and incorporate changing rhythmic time signatures, multiple tonal accents, and lush musical harmonies. It's often like listening to a cinematic concept made into an aural representation.

The album continues with "Beyond the Blues" which includes Gretchen Parlato's fetching voice and lyrics. The composition was conceived by Eigsti as another honor to his recently departed mother's memory. 

"201918" is a subtle and beautiful exploration with Eigsti's piano, Maya Kronfeld's Keyboard, and his bassist David Ginyard and drummer Oscar Seaton Jr.

Eigsti has often explored the Rogers and Hart classic "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" and so here he orchestrates the music including Charles Altura's guitar, Ben Wendel's tenor, and his rhythm section of Ginyard and Seaton Jr.  Eigsti considers it a breakup song and as he explores the melody he brings it to a apex where the lover's confusion related in the lyrics of the song can be resolved and the confusion left behind. 

The U.S. version of the album ends with the cut "Bad Sport Lobby" where the music starts out with a piano and bass on fast paced jaunt that merges into a frenetic Rhodes-led section. The song ends with two or three different codas and some eruptions of joy and relief by musicians at the finale.

A bonus cut was included on the Japanese edition of the release, with Eigsti on piano and some soulful saxophone. It is another dedication to Eigsti's mother on a sensitive take of one of her favorite songs "Nancy with the Smiling Face" and a fitting end of this wonderful album. 

 

Vocalist Kate Reid shows some backbone and style on "The Heart Already Knows"

Kate Reid :The Heart Already Knows 

Despite a plethora of female jazz vocalists who release albums on any given week, rarely do I hear what I consider to be a voice that catches my ear, a voice clearly distinguishable from a sea of pedestrian singers out there desperately trying to gain recognition. To separate themselves from the pack, many singers hire top name musicians or employ lush orchestrations to give them credibility or to hide their vocal deficiencies. Along comes Kate Reid. I have never heard of her and admit to picking up her latest cd The Heart Already Knows with a bit of skepticism. Yes, she employed some of the most accomplished musicians to accompany her on this outing, but instead of hiding behind their virtuosity or employing a big band with over the top arrangements, she daringly chooses to lay herself bare, performing in a series of duets with just her voice and either a piano or guitar accompaniment. There is no hiding in this format. You either have the goods or you don’t. Kate Reid’s The Heart Already Knows shows she is the real deal. Clearly, she chose her collaborators wisely, bringing in some of the cream of the crop to accompany her. Pianists Fred Hersch and Taylor Eigsti or guitarists Paul Meyers, Romero Lubambo and Larry Koonse all contribute admirably to the effort, but it is Kate Reid who shines.

Reid hails from the Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and received her bachelor’s degree in Jazz Studies from Western Michigan University. She continued her education at the University of Miami where she received a masters and eventually a Doctor of Music Arts.  She moved to Los Angeles and continued as an educator, teaching music and voice at Cypress College also working with her own quartet around the LA area. She became a sought-after studio and session musician lending her voice to several notable films, network television soundtracks and commercials. She is presently a Director of Jazz Vocal Performance and Associate Professor of jazz voice at the Frost School of Music at her alma mater University of Miami. The woman clearly has the goods.

With such an esteemed career in the studio and academia it’s no wonder why many of us haven’t heard of her at the national level.  With her latest release, The Heart Already Knows, that should change.

Reid’s voice is smooth, sultry with a Julie London-like intimate quality, especially in this very pared down duet format. It’s as if she is singing to you personally. Her tone is warm, her delivery is polished, and she modulates between notes with effortless ease.  

The songs are not your usual fare, more contemporary than the run of the mill standards from the Great American Songbook, but they have their own charm and certainly suit her voice.  She sings Strayhorn’s “Something to Live For” like a wizened storyteller and with tender poignancy, accompanied by Paul Taylor’s nimble guitar. Taylor’s guitar accompaniment also shines on the Ellington Blues “Just a Lucky So and So” where Reid’s velvety voice floats on top of the melody like a dollop of ice cream on a root beer float.

The masterful guitarist Larry Koonse’s weaves his magic on “Confessin’” laying down the perfect backdrop for Reid to soulfully scat to the melody. Reid also uses Koonse’s filigreed guitar work on Joni Mitchell’s “Two Grey Rooms.” Koonse plays the chord changes on an acoustic guitar and overdubs some superb harmony lines on a western-tinged electric guitar. Reid’s voice is clear and impassioned by the Mitchell lyrics and at times, although her voice has a lower timber, she almost sounds like Joni.

The pianist Fred Hersch can be heard accompanying Reid on the haunting Billie Holiday song “No More” which she sings with her own sense of pathos. He also accompanies Reid on a song sung by Nina Simone “If I Should Lose You” which is done with an up tempo beat and again on Hersch’s own languid composition “Lazin’ Around.”

The Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo lends his exquisite mastery and gives Fred Hersch’s” Endless Stars” a samba beat. Reid sings the Norma Winestone lyrics with an easy lilt. Later the two return on the Ivan Lins’ composition “Minds of Their Own” with lyrics by producer Peter Eldridge.

Perhaps the most synergistic combination on the album is Reid with the pianist Taylor Eigsti on the Peter Eldridge song “Busy Being Blue.”  Reid’s voice rings with a sense of having lived the lyrics and Eigsti’s accompaniment is perceptive and lyrical. Reid’s delivery is so natural and unforced that it draws you into the melancholy of the song without ever becoming maudlin. Eigsti also accompanies Reid’s on the James Taylor classic “Secret of Life.”

As Producer Peter Eldridge says in the liner notes, the duet “…concept could either send chills down your spine or reveal a backbone you never knew you had.” I think its safe to say that with The Heart Already Knows, vocalist Kate Reid 's backbone is alive and well.