John Escreet: Seismic Shift

John Escreet's recording Seismic Shift, the pianist's first trio recording, might be the case for the return of warning labels on packaging. Not that there are explicit lyrics or violent images, it is just that the 52 minutes of music contained here are quite tempestuous and unrelenting. By design.

Escreet is known for his wide-ranging interests in creative music. He has recorded in both the acoustic and electric realms, performing on instruments including the harpsichord, synthesizers, Fender Rhodes piano, and with adventurous musicians such as Evan Parker, Wayne Krantz, and Antonio Sanchez. Maybe the finest testimonial to his prowess are the musicians who have accompanied his project. They have included the bassists John Hébert, Matt Brewer, Eivind Opsvik and drummers Tyshawn Sorey, Eric Harland, Nasheet Waits, Jim Black, and Marcus Gilmore.

With Seismic Shift, add to that esteemed list bassist Eric Revis and drummer Damion Reid, whom Escreet assembled in Los Angeles during the pandemic. Maybe it was the oppressiveness of isolation and the exhilaration of finally performing together that makes this session sound as if it were a pressure release; "Study No. 1" sprints from the gate with a torrent of sound, Escreet plying a two-handed attack part Cecil Taylor and part Alexander von Schlippenbach. The pianist's pugnacity is equaled by both Reid's drumming and Revis' pulse. These musicians are like three wrestlers, entangled and tangling by design. Escreet penned "RD" (Revis/Damion) for this bandmates. It progresses from a repeated pattern into an open structure with cascades of notes and energy detonations. Escreet plays off the agilities of this trio with their turn-on-a-dime skills. They can sprint through a composition like "Digital Tulips" with its changing time patterns, or gently stroke the face of the one cover piece here, Stanley Cowell's "Equipoise." Escreet, Revis, and Reid deliver two fully improvised pieces "Outward And Upward" and "Quick Reset." Both tracks maintain an internal logic consistent with Escreet's composed music. In other words, these three musicians are one tight working team and that makes for a stellar recording.