Taylor Eigsti – Let It Come To You

Taylor Eigsti – Let It Come To You / 2008 Concord / 11 Tracks / http://www.tayjazz.com / http://www.concordmusicgroup.com /

“Let It Come To You” is the second release for Concord that Taylor Eigsti has created. For those individuals that are not too terribly familiar with Eigsti, ey is an American jazz pianist who has been linked to the post-bop style, including a very eclectic set of influences that touch about both soul and funk types of music. After receiving two Grammy nominations for “Lucky to be Me”, Eigsti balances equally the amount of covers (six, including re-workings of The Eels, Pat Metheny, Cole Porter and Duke Ellington) with originals.

Where some individuals would have a conniption regarding the amount of covers that are present here, one has to consider that Eigsti is still seen as a youngster in the jazz field, and is likely including slightly more of eir original content with each subsequent major-label release. The disc starts out with “I Love You”, a sedate song that gradually gains energy and a Latin flair, shaking things up considerably and showcasing the aforementioned eclecticism of Eigsti. Comparing “I Love You” to a “Timeline”  is to further show this varied approach. This is due to the fact that “Timeline” keeps within a post-modern type of jazz, while putting the horn into a bold new place, having this horn really take the place of a bass or other percussive instrument. Eigsti brings individuals around a fire on a snowy night with “Not Ready Yet”, a track that really goes forth and elicits memories of better times from anyone that may be listening in.

Where “Not Ready Yet” and “Timeline” were both very safe types of songs, “Caravan” goes off into space, using echoing arrangements and hints of guitar and bass to create a strung-out sound that has underneath it a very prim and proper, ordered type of sound. The strength of the compositions on this album is even more amazing considering that Eigsti is only in eir early twenties; if ey sticks with the whole jazz thing, there is no reason why ey could not be recording and releasing albums for fifty, even sixty, years. “Let It Come To You” should be seen as an early effort by someone who likely will be seen as a master in the next fifteen to twenty years. Pick up this album and see how Eigsti evolves; “Let It Come To You” is great on its own merits, but where will Eigsti be at a few albums from now?

Top Tracks: Fever, Caravan

Rating: 7.1/10