John Escreet super trio fires-up The Vortex at EFG London Jazz Festival

Following the critical acclaim of Seismic Shift (2022) and The Epicenter of Your Dreams (2024), expat pianist John Escreet is one of the more eye-catching names on the opening weekend roster for the 2024 EFG London Jazz Festival. Escreet’s trio is completed by double bassist Eric Revis and drummer Damion Reid, and together they form a thrilling free flowing jazz outfit whose style unashamedly ventures into the outer realms of avant-garde jazz and collective improvisation.

The set opened with a sparse free-tempo intro, featuring some eerie 12-tone serialist melodies from Escreet and scratchy bass sound effects from Revis. The trio suddenly exploded into life with a flurry of dense cluster harmonies and jagged rhythms, transformed into a juggernaut of noise propelled forward by Reid’s powerful drumming. This hypnotic, spiritual energy was sustained over the two sets and was intensified by the intimate acoustics of the Vortex.

The trio performed several compositions by avant-garde pioneers such as Stanley Cowell and Andrew Hill. The influence of this complex, colourful, eccentric style also shone through in Escreet’s own original compositions, most notably in the stuttering rhythms of ‘The Water is Tasting Worse’ and the cascading chords of ‘Perpetual Love’. Throughout, a tight compositional discipline underpinned even the most outside moments of free improvisation.

Above all else, it is textural contrast that is the magical ingredient in Escreet’s music. He employed heavy use of pounding of cluster chords to create a thunderous, polyrhythmic effect with drums and bass. Yet, in a moment, his playing morphs into something more fragile and lyrical. By oscillating between these two improvisational modes, Escreet took the audience on a thrilling emotional journey.

Escreet’s music is certainly not for the faint hearted. But for those that enjoy the intensity and rawness of free jazz, this trio are a wonder to experience live.