John Escreet Quartet

The English-born pianist John Escreet turns 30 this year, but since moving to New York in 2008, he has already released five albums as a leader with musical collaborators such as Dave Binney, Matt Brewer, and Ambrose Akinmusire. In less than a week, Escreet will release his sixth album, Sound, Space and Structures (Sunnyside), on May 13th, 2014. His latest release features his working trio with bassist John Hébert and drummer Tyshawn Sorey as its core, plus the legendary English saxophonist and sound explorer Evan Parker. Having just turned 70 last month, Parker shows no signs of slowing down, and his powerful, sensitive playing continues to surprise and astonish. In the liner notes to Sound, Space and Structures, Escreet writes:

Evan is one of the most unique voices on any instrument, a pioneer of the saxophone and a particular inspiration to me, being from the UK. I had tried to make this project happen previously, but but people’s schedules had not allowed for it. Then in September 2013, Evan came to New York to curate the program at The Stone for a couple of weeks and invited us to join him to perform one night. I suggested that as he was in town for a couple of weeks that we make a studio recording following our performance, and that’s how this album came to be.

This Friday's performance will feature a slightly different ensemble, which will include Escreet on piano and Sorey on bass, plus Amir ElSaffar on trumpet and Francois Moutin on bass. We last interviewed Escreet back in April of 2012, which can be found here. We're pleased to bring Escreet back to our stage to present more original music, and we should note that Escreet will be performing on our stage every night next week: next Thursday, he will appear with Zack Lober: The Ancestry Project, and on Friday and Saturday, he will perform with Greg Ward as part of The Jazz Gallery Residency/Commission 2013-14.The John Escreet Quartet performs at The Jazz Gallery on Friday, May 9th, 2014. The band features Escreet on piano, Amir ElSaffar on trumpet, Francois Moutin on bass, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. Sets are at 9 and 11 p.m. $22 general admission and $10 for members. Purchase tickets here.