It was fitting that one of the songs during John Escreet’s 70 minute set at Sam First Bar included Andrew Hills, poetic and dreamy “Erato”. The impressionistic yet intricate theme, deftly breathed out by Mark Turner/ts , brushed by Damion Reid and thematically solo’d by Eric Revis/b displayed the intellectual musical world vision of the pianist. Playing material from his recently released album The Epicenter of Your Dreams Escreet gave the packed club a taste of jazz that mixed intricate and sophisticated concepts first conceived by the likes of Hill and Herbie Hancock, but now his own fully nuanced and expanded signature.
The evening was bookended by a pair of elliptical and prismatic pieces, with “Call It What It Is” mixing sustained tension from Turner with Escreet’s reflective ivories on the opener, and the pianist hopping over the obstacle course created by Revis and Reid on the interweaving “Lifeline” on the closer. Escreet’s left hand was filled with dark probing like Hill while the right expressively pranced like Hancock in a tug of war over ivories. Heady with a heart.
Damien and Revis then popped the clutch and led the charge full speed ahead on the rapid post bopper of “Departure” as the ride cymbal fluttered like a hummingbird under Turners Bunsen burner of a ride. The highlight, however was the multi-themed and textured opus title track of the new release. Escreet gave a Lisztian intro before Turner took the baton to create a soft and sighing duet, with the rhythm team finally entering stage right for a series of dramatic leaps and lopes. And just when you thought that the piece was fading away to an end with Escreet’s crystalline chimes, Revis and Reid brought it back with soft brush and bass for a delicate and lamenting melancholic theme that rolled the tune away like an evening tide.
Sonny Rollins once told me that albums are invitations to a concert. Escreet and company showed this evening of a cd release that those rolls can be reversed.
Upcoming shows at Sam First include Remy Le Boeuf’s Big Band 06.21-22, Gerald Clayton 06/25 and Rachel Eckroth 06/29