John Escreet: The Epicenter Of Your Dreams

There is that image from one of Sergio Leone's spaghetti Western films where three gunfighters stand in the dusty town center, guns drawn, waiting for someone to flinch. That depiction of the Old West is somewhat appropriate as the UK-born pianist, John Escreet, who was based in New York for nearly a decade, moved to Los Angeles. He traded his NY trio of John Hébert and Tyshawn Sorey for the L.A. gunfighters bassist Eric Revis and drummer Damion Reid. The trio released the most excellent Seismic Shift (Whirlwind Records, 2022) and they return with this quartet outing.

Escreet's New York trio recordings Sound, Space and Structures (Sunnyside, 2014) and The Unknown (Sunnyside, 2016) added the saxophonist Evan Parker. With The Epicenter Of Your Dreams, the trio expands with the addition of Mark Turner. The California-raised saxophonist, like Escreet, built his reputation in New York before relocating to Los Angeles. From the opener "Call It What It Is," the three-way gunfighter standoff has become a four-way. Except, in no way can the music be described as an impasse. Escreet's intricate compositions are navigated with a dynamic insistency and speed, with all players locked into its four-way conversation.

The title track paints the mood with an array of colors before pausing and finishing as a seductive ballad. Escreet's writing reflects a restless mind. "Lifeline" stop/starts with a bustling pace, all four musicians locked in, flowing, and anticipating each other's moves. Besides Esctreet's original compositions, the trio covers two esteemed musican's works. Andrew Hill's ballad "Erato," recorded in 1965 as a trio, but not released for another decade, is faithfully reproduced, albeit with a quicker pace. Stanley Cowell's "Departure No. 1." is a retro homage to the speed and skill of one of jazz's least appreciated post-bop pianists. The quartet also gives us the improvised "Meltdown," which departs from the exacting forms of Escreet's composing, yet is evidence of what a tight ensemble can create through a taut musical telepathy.