At the 2016 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti made his first appearance in 14 years, with two sold-out shows at Bell's Eccentric Cafe (co-presented by Fontana.) In an interview with Cara Lieurance prior to his performance, Eigsti takes a hard look at the realities of life on the road. With over 200 performance dates a year, he acknowledges that the joy of playing jazz with his trusted friends for live audiences comes with a lack of grounding and routine caused by constant travel.
The value Eigsti places on his musical relationships is one of the keys to his endurance and success. Longtime collaborators HarishRaghavan, bass and Eric Harland, drums, are people he enjoys spending time with off-stage as well as on. As a clinician, Eigsti can often tell at first listen whether or not a group has spent time together socially.
Taylor Eigsti says the trio will be trying out new material on Gilmore audiences. It has been six years since his last album was released, Daylight At Midnight.
