Tree Falls – Taylor Eigsti

An eleven-year hiatus as bandleader was far more than just stepping aside for Taylor Eigsti; it allowed for a profound accumulation of perspectives. With Tree Falls, Eigsti is far from wanting to fit within the strict margins of the traditional format; his music unfolds a sonic palette where acoustic sophistication coexists seamlessly with electronic textures.

His piano serves as the core of a hybrid architecture, capable of shifting from soloist intimacy to orchestral-scale densities.

The ensemble is built around the driving rhythm of Eric Harland on drums and David Ginyard on electric bass—an engine upon which Charles Altura crafts his guitar solos. The musical tapestry becomes richer and more complex with the woodwinds of Ben Wendel and Sam Sadigursky, alongside a string trio featuring Emilie-Anne Gendron, Nathan Schram, and Hamilton Berry, which elevates Eigsti’s writing into a symphonic dimension. Joining this ensemble are the vocals of Gretchen Parlato, Becca Stevens, and Casey Abrams, who utilize their instruments as melodic lines when the improvisation rests.

Tree Falls solidifies itself as a manifesto of creative maturity that vanishes the boundaries between contemporary jazz and instrumental exploration. The album's title serves as a direct allusion to that long absence: if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it really make a sound? Eigsti breaks the isolation under the premise that music is never truly completed until it is shared. Tree Falls is the deliberate act of opening the doors to a deeply intimate sonic map that demanded to stop happening in secret.