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John Escreet: Learn To Live
by Friedrich Kunzmann
Take some sweet melodies from Jeff Lynn's ELO, add Keith Emerson on synth and think of an underlying rumbling towards more experimental sound collages, rooted somewhere between the electronic approach of Brian Eno and Miles Davis' early organic-fusion extravaganzas and you'll end up with... well, let's be honest, it still won't sound anything like what keyboardist / composer John Escreet has to offer on Learn to Live . While one preferably shan't judge a book by its cover, his first ...
read moreJohn Escreet: Learn To Live
by Mike Jurkovic
From the light, airy smoothness of “Opening," through the nomadic, polyrhythmic, suite “Broken Justice (Kalief)" (which brings to contemporary life Weather Report's axiom: “Everyone solos but no-one solos") to the poppy, practically Stevie Wonder-ish “Lady T's Vibe," keyboardist/composer John Escreet's fusion proves to be a many-headed, sinewy hybrid. All are brought to the forefront on Learn To Live. Employing a host of new and old keyboards, and a band of like-minded originals, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, drummers Eric Harland ...
read moreJohn Escreet: The Unknown
by Budd Kopman
Improvisation is the core of jazz, and hearing it live is the best possible experience. However, there are different levels of improvisation, ranging from stretching the melody, to playing over a tune's changes, or taking off during a particular composition. The presence of melody, harmony and rhythm as well as structure can vary to a wide degree. Arguably, the highest form of “creative improvised music" is that which just happens without any planning and where the players have widest ears ...
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by Dan Bilawsky
Stepping into the void without a map, compass, or guide can be an incredibly scary experience. But the very same scenario can also be liberating. Musicians freed of the shackles of preconceived ideas are the ones, after all, who speak the lingua franca of jazz--improvisation, that is--in its purest dialect. And improvisation doesn't get any truer than when there's a blank canvas to work with. That's all there is to know about The Unknown. Or is it? ...
read moreJohn Escreet: Sound, Space and Structures
by Glenn Astarita
Nascent pianist, composer John Escreet has created a buzz in progressive jazz spheres, while paving a golden path since his well-received debut album, Consequences (Posi-Tone, 2008). The young British Renaissance man teams with fellow countryman and iconic saxophone improviser Evan Parker and frequent collaborators, bassist John Hebert and drummer Tyshawn Sorey on an album that is conspicuously modeled after its title. Escreet and associates united with Parker for a few sets at John Zorn's New York City venue ...
read moreJohn Escreet: Sabotage and Celebration
by Phil Barnes
Doncaster born pianist John Escreet recorded this exhilarating modern jazz record in his adopted home of New York on 7 November 2012 informed, he has said in a recent interview, by two events. The first, Hurricane Sandy, was responsible for his incarceration in his Brooklyn apartment for long enough to write and fine tune the material for this collection, while the second was the increasingly polarised US political situation in the lead up to the 2012 Presidential election itself held ...
read moreJohn Escreet: Sabotage and Celebration
by Mark Corroto
The music of composer and pianist John Escreet is a profound discovery. Each of his releases has been a revelation and an opportunity to scrutinize a major talent in the midst of his creative process. Not satisfied to work within 'the jazz tradition,' he assimilates multiple styles and musical models into his compositions. Drawing from 20th century classical, electronica, free jazz, and funk sensibilities, he sculpts a highly organized sound, often out of chaos. That said, Sabotage and ...
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