John Escreet

“Sabotage & Celebration”

(Whirlwind Recordings WR4634)

Born in Doncaster pianist and composer John Escreet emigrated to New York in 2006/7 and in the intervening years has established a niche for himself on what is still one of the most competitive jazz scenes in the world. A graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Music Escreet studied for a Masters at the Manhattan School of Music, immersed himself in the local jazz culture, and ended up staying. Since then he’s released four albums (this is his fifth) and played with some of New York’s leading musicians among them trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and guitarist Wayne Krantz. The personnel on “Sabotage & Celebration” is like a who’s who of New York’s top creative names, many of them band leaders in their own right. A core quintet includes saxophonists David Binney (alto) and Chris Potter (tenor) and an all star rhythm section features bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Jim Black. A hugely ambitious record also features writing for strings, brass and voices plus a guest appearance on two tracks by guitarist Adam Rogers.

Still only in his late twenties Escreet has been fully assimilated into the New York scene and American culture in general. The new album is inspired by two specifically American events, the 2012 presidential election which returned Barak Obama for a second term and by Hurricane Sandy which caused a high degree of disruption in New York and effectively closed down the city for a whole week. “I was stuck in my apartment and had nothing to do except write” explained Escreet “and what I wrote I considered to be the strongest material”. 

The pieces on the album were written specifically with the core quintet in mind and it took a while for Escreet to get such a busy bunch of musicians together. This happened in Autumn 2012 and coincided first with Sandy and then with the election. The group played a gig on election night, the evening before the recording session, and in a close run presidential race an atmosphere of celebration began to prevail as it became apparent that Obama had won. The album title refers not only to this but also to the dirty tricks campaign waged by Mitt Romney in the run up to the election and the numerous incidents of “voter sabotage”. 

But regardless of the political inspiration behind it the question remains “is the music any good?” and it undoubtedly is on an ambitious album that touches many bases. Escreet once more - “a lot of the albums back in the 70’s featured a wider sonic palette using strings, brass and all kinds of different instruments. Those influences combined with some of the pop music I have been listening to recently helped shape the sound of this album”. Thus the seven pieces that comprise “Sabotage & Celebration” embrace contemporary classical music, pop song structures and of course the knotty, angular brand of post bop that defines the New York “Downtown” sound. Escreet blends these different influences with consummate skill and the result is an ambitious but deeply rewarding album that has garnered considerable critical acclaim.

Of late Escreet has also renewed his fascination with classical music and the opening piece of the album “Axis Of Hope” acts as a kind of overture and features Escreet’s writing for a five piece string section consisting of violinists Fung Chern Hwei and Annette Homann, violist Hannah Levinson, cellist Mariel Roberts and double bassist Garth Stevenson. Sweet but vaguely ominous this segues directly into the groove driven “He Who Dares” which introduces the jazz quintet and also includes contributions from the strings plus a two man brass section featuring trumpeter Shane Endsley and trombonist Josh Roseman. Fluent, often mercurial solos come from Potter, Escreet and Binney as they soar above rich textures and infectious, propulsive grooves. It’s a superb encapsulation of Escreet’s aims as delineated above and a perfect synthesis of Escreet’s various influences.

Clocking in at a little under twelve minutes the title track forms the centre-piece of the album. As the title suggests it covers a gamut of moods and styles opening out from Escreet’s sparse piano chording and a brief string passage to embrace the harshness and dissonance of free jazz “as if the music itself is being sabotaged” as the press release puts it. Escreet’s solo sees him boldly heading into Cecil Taylor territory, brilliantly shadowed by the excellent Black, one of the world’s most inventive and creative drummers. A more upbeat second section is positively ebullient with Escreet still in dazzling form at the keyboard with Black again the perfect foil. The new found air of celebration is encapsulated by Potter’s towering but joyous solo which seems to channel the spirit of John Coltrane. Overall it’s a journey that leaves the listener breathless but exhilarated.

Similarly “The Decapitator” emerges from the scrapings and rumblings of free jazz with threads of melody emerging as Escreet engages in further rewarding dialogue with Black who turns in some exquisite cymbal work. These gentle, ECM style explorations eventually give way to further tumultuous Taylor-isms as the discussion becomes more dense and animated with both pianist and drummer upping the ante. Once again it’s a demanding but ultimately thrilling ride.

The celebratory air returns with the more straightforward and positively catchy “Laura Angela” which features the leader making intelligent use of Fender Rhodes alongside solos from Potter and Binney. The nimble chording of guest guitarist Adam Rogers weaves its way in and out of the piece to good effect.

“Animal Style” is typical New York contemporary jazz, sparky, spiky, jagged and angular with another terrific burst of Cecil Taylor/Myra Melford inspired pianism from Escreet. Black breaks up the beat whilst simultaneously driving the twin saxes to great heights. Like much of the music on this excellent album this is uncompromising but invigorating listening.

Escreet closes the album on an elegiac note with “Beyond Your Wildest Dreams”. The pianist has been spending an increasing amount of time in Los Angeles and the song includes the ethereal voices of Louis Cole, Genevieve Artadi and Nina Geiger from the LA based group KNOWER. Rogers is also involved and the tune’s faster second section brings all the elements together on an ecstatic coda that sees Binney’s soprano sax taking flight above a rich, lush backdrop of strings and voices plus Black’s lightly propulsive grooves. There’s an epic, cinematic grandeur about it which ensures that this ambitious album ends on a soaring high.

“Sabotage And Celebration” has accrued a host of positive reviews and rightly so. Escreet is to applauded for the breadth of his vision and for the way in which he blends disparate elements and influences into a cohesive whole. The playing by an all star cast is exemplary throughout with each of the core quintet seemingly full of good ideas and bringing much to the music, including the rarely mentioned bassist Matt Brewer who is an unobtrusive but essential presence throughout. 

This album confirms that John Escreet has become fully assimilated as a major player on the US jazz scene. Although relatively unsung back home in Britain he’s arguably the UK’s most successful and influential musical export to the US since Dave Holland.

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