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Seismic Shift
Seismic Shift in Bloomington, MN
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The first-ever trio album from
John Escreet
, 2022's
Seismic Shift
captures the pianist in deep interplay with his highly regarded rhythm section partners, bassist
Eric Revis
and drummer
Damion Reid
. Born in the U.K.,
Escreet
spent many years living in Brooklyn before relocating to Los Angeles at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was during one of his initial post-pandemic shows in 2021 that he first worked with
Revis
(a longtime member of
Branford Marsalis
' band) and
Reid
(who has played with
Robert Glasper
and
Steve Lehman
). All three musicians found common ground, communing over their many years in New York and shared interest in pushing the jazz envelope. It's that push-to-the-edge energy they bring to all of
, with songs that straddle the line between harmonically nuanced post-bop and frenetic, atonal avant-gardism. Aesthetically,
is an intriguing player with a style that bridges the warm sophistication of
Herbie Hancock
McCoy Tyner
with the bold free jazz and fist-crashing chords of
Cecil Taylor
Thelonious Monk
. In the past, he has led groups featuring horn players, including
Ambrose Akinmusire
(2009's
Consequences
) and
Evan Parker
(2013's
Sound, Space and Structures
). While it's always welcome to hear how engaged he is with another front-line improviser, he's just as compelling on his own, and more importantly with his trio partners here. Both
are titanically gifted players who regularly grab your attention with their boldly delivered accents and swinging flourishes. There's a maverick quality to
that's evident right from the start, as in the opening "Study No. 1," where
pushes you with force, tearing your ears open with dense chords and great blasts of notey runs. More measured is "Equipoise," a dramatic modal piece in the
John Coltrane
tradition. Here,
pours shards of linear broken-glass notes down a deep stairway of fourths against which
offer woody bellows and tumbling stick rhythms. The trio's tactile give-and-take is redolent throughout, especially on the evocatively named "Digital Tulips," which has the energy of a 1940s bebop track being remixed in real time by a DJ. The title song is yet more evocative, conjuring haunted house imagery as
's prepared piano technique of plucked strings and dampened keys gives way to
' mournful bowed bass and
's ghostly cymbal work.
is a gorgeously arresting album, and there's never a moment where you can easily predict where
's trio is going to go next. ~ Matt Collar
John Escreet
, 2022's
Seismic Shift
captures the pianist in deep interplay with his highly regarded rhythm section partners, bassist
Eric Revis
and drummer
Damion Reid
. Born in the U.K.,
Escreet
spent many years living in Brooklyn before relocating to Los Angeles at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was during one of his initial post-pandemic shows in 2021 that he first worked with
Revis
(a longtime member of
Branford Marsalis
' band) and
Reid
(who has played with
Robert Glasper
and
Steve Lehman
). All three musicians found common ground, communing over their many years in New York and shared interest in pushing the jazz envelope. It's that push-to-the-edge energy they bring to all of
, with songs that straddle the line between harmonically nuanced post-bop and frenetic, atonal avant-gardism. Aesthetically,
is an intriguing player with a style that bridges the warm sophistication of
Herbie Hancock
McCoy Tyner
with the bold free jazz and fist-crashing chords of
Cecil Taylor
Thelonious Monk
. In the past, he has led groups featuring horn players, including
Ambrose Akinmusire
(2009's
Consequences
) and
Evan Parker
(2013's
Sound, Space and Structures
). While it's always welcome to hear how engaged he is with another front-line improviser, he's just as compelling on his own, and more importantly with his trio partners here. Both
are titanically gifted players who regularly grab your attention with their boldly delivered accents and swinging flourishes. There's a maverick quality to
that's evident right from the start, as in the opening "Study No. 1," where
pushes you with force, tearing your ears open with dense chords and great blasts of notey runs. More measured is "Equipoise," a dramatic modal piece in the
John Coltrane
tradition. Here,
pours shards of linear broken-glass notes down a deep stairway of fourths against which
offer woody bellows and tumbling stick rhythms. The trio's tactile give-and-take is redolent throughout, especially on the evocatively named "Digital Tulips," which has the energy of a 1940s bebop track being remixed in real time by a DJ. The title song is yet more evocative, conjuring haunted house imagery as
's prepared piano technique of plucked strings and dampened keys gives way to
' mournful bowed bass and
's ghostly cymbal work.
is a gorgeously arresting album, and there's never a moment where you can easily predict where
's trio is going to go next. ~ Matt Collar
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