After three well-received albums for Concord, pianist Taylor Eigsti didn’t record again as a leader for 11 years. He did remain highly visible, playing with Chris Botti, Terence Blanchard, Sachal Vasandani, and Eric Harland’s Voyager, among others. But the time came to break the silence, and Eigsti did it in grand style with Tree Falls, which won the 2022 Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. It’s a product of the artist-run atmosphere at GSI Studios and its in-house label, co-owned by Harland, who plays monstrous drums throughout the album (check out “Bandwiches” for a taste). There’s a coherent blend of killer band instrumentals and highly melodic vocal numbers that showcase Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens as well as Casey Abrams (of American Idol and Postmodern Jukebox fame). Along with his prodigious and limitlessly versatile piano, Eigsti (with co-producer Josh Giunta) creates an acoustic and electronic sound palette that inspires guitarist Charles Altura and electric bassist David Ginyard to imaginative heights (Altura soloing over strings and bass on “Tree Fell” is gold). Ben Wendel and Sam Sadigursky track multiple woodwinds, while three ace string players bring Eigsti’s writing into even more of an orchestral space.