PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 101 Sometimes success comes through sequencing. Taylor Eigsti puts as much consideration into the order of the songs on his latest contemporary jazz album, Plot Armor, as he does in creating them. “The sequence tells a story,” he notes. Even if the music is good, an album can fall apart if it isn’t told in the right order—if “it doesn’t unravel in the right way.” He reaches for a metaphor to drive home the point. “You could see a great Picasso painting, but if it's hanging in the bathroom of a Wendy's, you're going to be like, ‘Whatever.’ The framing is so important.” Taylor’s life, like his albums, unfurls with profound purpose. As Menlo Park’s child prodigy turns 40 this year, he’s traveled a road paved with triumph and loss. Taylor has released nine albums, performed with the likes of Sting and John Mayer, and symphonies that include the New York Philharmonic, toured internationally and won a Grammy. But he’s also outlived his entire family and several mentors. Music is more than a career, it’s Taylor’s key to unlocking connection and catharsis.
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