MUSIC

For New York-based pianist Taylor Eigsti, the Stanford Jazz Workshop is an annual homecoming (he grew up in nearby Menlo Park, and has taught at the Workshop for a decade) and a chance to present his latest musical offerings to some of his longest-standing and most devoted fans. Taylor's career gathers momentum with each passing year as he performs internationally with his own groups and a who's-who of renowned jazz artists.

All About Jazz praised his 2008 recording Let It Come to You as "a monster of an album," and All Music Guide raves, "Eigsti just keeps getting more compelling and interesting." With his strongly rhythmic playing and endless melodic inventiveness, it's easy to see why Taylor is in such high demand.

Taylor's new release Daylight at Midnight (Concord Jazz) explores a set of tunes that, while not exactly jazz standards, will no doubt be familiar to some members of the Stanford Jazz audience. Songs by contemporary artists like Elliot Smith, Coldplay, and Nick Drake provide the starting point for Taylor's improvisational excursions, just as the compositions of Cole Porter and George Gershwin have for generations of jazz musicians.

Taylor and his band, featuring vocalist Becca Stevens, inject new life, subtlety, and emotional depth into these modern songs. Some of the melodies come from the world of pop, but these young musicians' spontaneity and creativity will convince even die-hard traditionalists that jazz in the 21st Century is thriving.