John Escreet
Background information
Born (1984-08-18) 18 August 1984
Doncaster, England
GenresJazz, electronic, avant-garde
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Piano, keyboards
Years active2000s–present
LabelsPosi-Tone, Mythology, Criss Cross, Whirlwind, Sunnyside, BRM
Websitewww.johnescreet.com

John Escreet (born 18 August 1984) is an English pianist, composer and improviser. He has lived in the United States since 2006 and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Biography

Escreet moved to New York in 2006. In 2008 he graduated from the Master’s Program at Manhattan School of Music, where he studied piano with Kenny Barron and Jason Moran.[1]

In September 2008 he released his debut album Consequences[1][2] featuring David Binney (alto saxophone), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Matt Brewer (double bass) and Tyshawn Sorey (drums).[3] Escreet has since released several highly-acclaimed albums of original music (see leader discography below) featuring a diverse array of musicians including Chris Potter, Wayne Krantz, Marcus Gilmore, Nasheet Waits, Jim Black, Evan Parker, Nicholas Payton, Greg Osby, Eric Harland, Justin Brown, Eric Revis and Damion Reid.

From 2011-2021 John worked regularly as a sideman with the Grammy Award-winning drummer Antonio Sanchez in his band "Migration", recording 3 albums - New Life (2012), The Meridian Suite (2015),[4] Lines In The Sand (2019) - as well as touring the world several times over. During this time he also worked regularly as a sideman with Tyshawn Sorey, David Binney, Amir ElSaffar, Alex Sipiagin as well as many others.

In 2020 John relocated to Los Angeles. He formed a new piano trio there during the COVID-19 lockdowns with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Damion Reid. They recorded the album Seismic Shift which was released in 2022. It was instantly well-received, with Downbeat Magazine proclaiming “The agility and interplay between the three, on what is Escreet’s first-ever trio recording, makes the entirety of Seismic Shift a joyful, “hell, yeah” listen.”[5] The Wall Street Journal declared that “Together, the three have achieved a remarkable rapport, moving as a unit through pieces with sudden tempo changes and dynamics that range from all out sonic assault to pristine delicacy.”[6] All Music described it as "a gorgeously arresting album, and there's never a moment where you can easily predict where Escreet's trio is going to go next."[7]

In 2023 John collaborated with the celebrated British electronic artist Floating Points, performing his landmark work Promises to a capacity crowd at The Hollywood Bowl.[8][9]

John Escreet in the studio in 2018

Grants and Commissions

Escreet is widely celebrated as a highly original composer, and has received numerous composition grants and commissions over the years.

In 2021, he was a recipient of the highly-coveted South Arts Jazz Road Creative Residencies Grant worth $40,000.[10] Previous awards include the Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant in 2009, as well as the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming in 2011. In 2013, Escreet was commissioned by the Jazz Gallery to write a new work as part of their Residency/Commissions for 2012-2013, for which he wrote an extended work for string quartet and piano trio. 2014 saw John being awarded the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation USArtists International grant, enabling his Trio from the United States to collaborate on a European tour with the esteemed British free-jazz saxophonist Evan Parker.

Teaching and Education

During his time in New York John was on faculty at The New School. He currently teaches at the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz in Los Angeles.

Discography

As leader

Year Artist Title Label
2008 John Escreet Consequences [1][2] Posi-Tone
2010 John Escreet Don't Fight the Inevitable[11] Mythology
2011 John Escreet The Age We Live In[12] Mythology
2011 John Escreet Exception to the Rule[13] Criss Cross
2013 John Escreet Sabotage and Celebration[14][15] Whirlwind
2014 John Escreet Sound, Space and Structures[16] Sunnyside
2016 John Escreet The Unknown[17][18] Sunnyside
2018 John Escreet Learn To Live[19][20] Blue Room Music
2022 John Escreet Seismic Shift Whirlwind

As sideman

Year Artist Title Label
2009 David Binney & Alan Ferber In the Paint Posi-Tone
2010 David Binney Aliso Criss Cross
2011 Knower Think Thoughts Self-released
2011 Tyshawn Sorey Oblique Pi
2012 Jamie Baum In This Life Sunnyside
2012 Antonio Sanchez New Life CAM Jazz
2013 Amir ElSaffar Alchemy Pi
2014 David Binney Anacapa Criss Cross
2015 Alex Sipiagin Balance 38–58 Criss Cross
2015 Antonio Sanchez The Meridian Suite CAM Jazz
2017 Alex Sipiagin Moments Captured Criss Cross
2017 Alex Sipiagin Relativity SkyDeck Music
2018 Antonio Sanchez Lines In The Sand CAM Jazz
2019 Alex Sipiagin NoFo Skies Blue Room Music
2021 Amir ElSaffar The Other Shore Out Note Records
2022 John Escreet/Pera Krstajic/Anthony Fung Cresta Self-released
2022 Dan Rosenboom Polarity Orenda Records
2023 Logan Kane Floor Plans Ghost Note Records

References

  1. 1 2 3 Chinen, Nate (1 December 2008). "CRITICS' CHOICE; New CDs: John Escreet". New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  2. 1 2 Simon, Elliot (19 January 2009). "CD/LP Review: Consequences". All About Jazz. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  3. ↑ Chinen, Nate (23 January 2009). "Building Bridges With a Post-Bop Ideal". New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  4. ↑ Chinen, Nate (8 June 2015). "Review: Antonio Sánchez With 2 Albums, 'The Meridian Suite' and 'Three Times Three'". New York Times. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  5. ↑ "DownBeat Reviews". downbeat.com. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Martin (21 September 2022). "'Sparkle Beings' by Angelica Sanchez and 'Seismic Shift' by John Escreet Review: A Jazz Trend of Note". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  7. ↑ John Escreet - Seismic Shift Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 16 November 2023
  8. ↑ Bain, Katie (19 September 2023). "After Death of Collaborator Pharoah Sanders, Floating Points on 'Heavy' Task of Performing Their Acclaimed Album". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Floating Points and Shabaka Hutchings live review: A beautiful tribute in Hollywood". The Independent. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "John Escreet / John Escreet Trio | South Arts". www.southarts.org. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  11. ↑ Fordham, John (5 August 2010). "John Escreet: Don't Fight the Inevitable". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  12. ↑ Bilawski, Dan (13 July 2011). "John Escreet: The Age We Live In (2011)". All About Jazz. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "John Escreet Exception to the Rule". All Music. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  14. ↑ Fordham, John. "John Escreet: Sabotage and Celebration – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  15. ↑ Witherden, Barry. "John Escreet: Sabotage and Celebration". BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  16. ↑ "Sunnyside Records: By John Escreet". Sunnyside Records. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "John Escreet: The Unknown album review". All About Jazz. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  18. ↑ Hobart, Mike (22 December 2016). "John Escreet: The Unknown — review". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "John Escreet: Learn to Live". Jazzwise. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  20. ↑ "DownBeat Reviews". downbeat.com. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
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