Ask an Artist - SJW's Talented Faculty Takes Your Questions - this month, Taylor Eigsti

An opportunity to hear from SJW's Workshop and Festival artists as they respond to questions of interest to jazz listeners and musicians. If you have a question, send it to newsletter@stanfordjazz.org to be considered for a future issue of the SJW E-Newsletter!

Pianist Taylor Eigsti has been a popular member of the SJW faculty since 2000. From Menlo Park, Taylor’s initial introduction to Stanford Jazz was as a Jazz Camp participant!  Now 23, he records for the Concord Jazz label, receiving two Grammy nominations for his 2006 recording, “Lucky To Be Me” (in the “Best Instrumental” and “Best Composition” categories). Eigsti has been featured on the cover of JAZZIZ and Keyboard Magazine, and has recorded or performed with Dave Brubeck, Christian McBride, Joshua Redman, James Moody and many other distinguished artists. Taylor now resides in New York and will return to the SJW faculty this summer.

Based upon your experience, how do you view the role of talent (nature) versus hard work and enthusiasm (nurture) in becoming a successful musician?

I think that no matter how someone defines "success," one must put in enough hard work and enthusiasm to bring out one’s best talents. I am the type of person that truly believes that if you set goals and directions, work hard for them, and try not to control every little thing along the way, opportunities will present themselves. Kind of like that movie "Field of Dreams" (if you build it, they will come….). Lay the foundation for your talent to thrive by working really hard to develop it and by keeping an open mind – personally and musically - and somehow I think the universe will present you with opportunities.

Another important aspect that often gets overlooked is to do stuff that you ENJOY! If we are learning something because we are forced to, it does us no good. I believe that the only time when real progress happens if you are ***patient*** and you are excited by what you are doing. If you are beginning to learn drums, and all of your teachers and parents tell you to stop playing punk rock music while you're learning jazz, but you really love playing punk rock, then get some soundproofing for your room and play away! We NEED to play the types of music that we LOVE to play (while keeping an open mind) when we’re trying to learn. That keeps us going in what can sometimes be a very frustrating world of music. Sometimes ALL we have as musicians is our talent, and our ability to physically interact with an instrument in order to make ourselves and others happy. No good teacher or parent should ever tell a kid not to play a certain type of music; by doing so, they practically guarantee that the kid will either get frustrated and eventually quit, or rebel and become a famous punk drummer…

I definitely know how it can feel to not be able to play the types of music that you want to play. With my own career, I find myself in situations where I compose a whole lot, and then because I have to tour to support a current record, I can't go out and play or record my new songs because of pressure to play music from the currently promoted record. This is obviously frustrating, as it's easy to get tired of the same music. When we can't play the type of music that we want to play, we start getting affected in so many ways – emotionally, physically, mentally. I have been in situations where I have received what may be looked at as success - and I feel very fortunate to have had those opportunities - but at the same time I have almost gotten completely burnt out a few times because I lose control over many aspects of things. What keeps me going, though, is knowing how fortunate I am to be able to go out and perform all the time and interact with other musicians, which makes me really live in the present moment. I also keep in mind that compositions never die, and you can always find a situation to play the kind of music you really want to play, even if there are limited opportunities. Honestly in so many ways, it's the greatest profession I could ever ask for, even if it frustrates me at times.

There's one other aspect to achieving success that I think it's important to keep in mind. So much success in terms of exposure or big breaks comes through luck, and through putting oneself in the right position to jump on as many opportunities as possible. The type of people who are outgoing, friendly, respectful and generally nice to be around are the people that can frequently end up in the right place at the right time. As long as you're ready for opportunities when they come, you’ll be able to follow them.

I believe that as early on as possible, everyone should define his or her own personal sense of success. If you are the type of musician that really loves the process of learning to play music but your heart is elsewhere – then listen to that! If you are deriving happiness from the learning process with no particular expectations, then that is success as much as anything else. I think that the right combination of listening to others, working hard, challenging yourself, and loving what you are doing will lead anyone to success, however they define it.