Taylor Eigsti Comes Home, Carrying the Fire Forward
Fresh off a Grammy win and shaped by Bay Area mentorship, the pianist returns to SFJAZZ with music that blends personal loss, collective memory, and fearless invention.
Show Info
Event: Melissa Aldana / Taylor Eigsti (Double Bill)
Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026
Showtime: 7:30 PM
Venue: SFJAZZ Center, Miner Auditorium, San Francisco
Taylor Eigsti has long operated with a rare kind of creative transparency. A pianist and composer whose career began in the glare of prodigyhood, the Menlo Park native has spent three decades refining a voice that balances technical command with emotional immediacy. His latest album, Plot Armor, which earned the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, stands as his most personal statement to date—a meditation on memory, grief, and resilience. As Eigsti prepares for a homecoming performance at SFJAZZ on January 17, the music he brings back to the Bay Area reflects both where he comes from and how far he has traveled.
(Click play to listen to our exclusive interview with Taylor Eigsti.)
Growing Up Inside the Bay Area Jazz Ecosystem
Eigsti’s artistic roots are inseparable from the Bay Area jazz ecosystem. He began playing piano at age 4 and was quickly labeled a prodigy, a designation he accepts with perspective rather than nostalgia. “My theory is that really, if you’re a young kid and you’re out performing in public, usually most people will just call you a prodigy no matter what,” he says. “I’m grateful for that experience because I think it’s a good thing for any young person to be told they’re good at something. I had a lot of positive encouragement, which led me to really dream big and want to keep going with it.”
By age 15, Eigsti was teaching at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, absorbing lessons from mentors such as the late Dr. Herb Wong and educator Bud Spangler. Their guidance left a lasting imprint. “I was really lucky to have a lot of great heroes and mentors and people who offered a lot of inspiration and encouragement growing up,” he says. “I’m grateful for the Bay Area. I had a lot of mentors and people who gave me a lot of opportunities. Every time I’m back there, it just feels like home.”
Imagining the Future Through Collective Sound
That sense of community has continued to shape Eigsti’s ambitions as a composer. One of his most expansive projects, “Imagine Our Future,” was commissioned by the Hewlett Foundation and built from more than 100 musical and multimedia submissions by Northern California youth. The challenge was both logistical and philosophical. “That was one of the coolest and biggest challenges I’ve ever had as a composer,” Eigsti says. “The idea was to imagine our future, and a wide array of young people in the Bay Area all responded to the same prompt.”
Rather than cherry-picking ideas, Eigsti committed to incorporating at least a fragment of each submission into the final work. “My goal was to have fun and challenge myself to play God and put it all together,” he says. The resulting performance was intentionally fleeting. Eigsti has decided never to perform the piece again, likening it to a Tibetan sand mandala—intricate, meaningful, and meant to disappear. “I think all of these ideas were just a snapshot in time and a snapshot of one region,” he explains. “I want to preserve that as the one time it would be performed.”
Grief, Memory, and the Making of Plot Armor
If “Imagine Our Future” looked outward, Plot Armor turns inward. The album is dedicated to Eigsti’s mother, who died shortly before recording began. One of its most affecting tracks, “Fire Within,” draws directly from her writing. “My mom was a frustrated writer,” Eigsti says. “Her emails were filled with drafts—stories she had started, free writing, just her thoughts and emotions. I needed to do that to kind of hear her voice again in a way.”
Eigsti structured the lyrics from her words, capturing the disorientation and vulnerability of her struggle with dementia. The house described in the song becomes a metaphor for a deteriorating mind, a fragile structure holding memories at bay. To record the track, Eigsti enlisted musicians he considers family, including vocalist Lisa Fischer and guitarist Julian Lage. “It’s my personal favorite track on Plot Armor because it’s the most personal,” he says. “My mom got to have her own lyrics on a Grammy-winning album. It was special to be able to honor her in that way.”
A Long-Awaited Return to Miner Auditorium
Eigsti’s return to SFJAZZ marks a milestone. The January 17 concert, part of Terence Blanchard’s UpSwing series, pairs him with saxophonist Melissa Aldana in a double bill at Miner Auditorium. “I’m honored to share that bill with her, and it’s an honor to bring my group into Miner Auditorium,” Eigsti says. “I’ve wanted to do that for many years, and I’m thankful to Terence and SFJAZZ for giving me that opportunity.”
The Band, the Music, and the Moment
The quartet—drummer Oscar Seaton, guitarist Charles Altura, and bassist Jonathan Maron—will draw from Plot Armor and Tree Falls, revisiting earlier material while leaving room for spontaneity. Eigsti hints at the possibility of a late-set collaboration with Aldana but emphasizes the spirit of the evening over any fixed plan. “We’re just the four of us, and we’re going to have fun with it,” he says.
For Eigsti, the performance is more than a concert. It is a return to the place where his musical language first took shape—and an opportunity to share how that language continues to evolve.
TICKET INFO Taylor Eigsti’s return to the Bay Area celebrates both his recent Grammy success and his deep roots in the local jazz scene. Joining him for this special homecoming is a quartet of longtime collaborators, promising an evening of intricate compositions and spirited improvisation.
Show Information
Event: Melissa Aldana / Taylor Eigsti (Double Bill)
Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026
Showtime: 7:30 PM
Venue: SFJAZZ Center, Miner Auditorium, San Francisco
Tickets & Info: https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/25-26/melissa-aldana-taylor-eigsti/
