British pianist John Escreet approaches improvisation and sonic design with a bold conceptual edge, weaving harmonically sophisticated acoustic post-bop together with modern creative music and vigorous free jazz. Wide recognition arrived after he relocated to New York, where his first recording, the 2008 album Consequences, showcased trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire alongside alto saxophonist David Binney. Further work with Binney yielded the 2010 release Don’t Fight the Inevitable and the 2013 album Sabotage and Celebration, the latter also including saxophonist Chris Potter. Additional partnerships with saxophonist Evan Parker, bassist John Herbert, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey surfaced on the 2014 album Sound, Space and Structures. Electronics entered his palette with 2018’s Learn to Live, while 2022’s Seismic Shift marked his first trio outing, performed with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Damion Reid. Saxophonist Mark Turner later joined the same rhythm section for 2024’s The Epicenter of Your Dreams.
Born in Doncaster, England, in 1984, Escreet took up the piano early and had already developed strong improvisational skills when he enrolled at London’s Royal Academy of Music. There he worked with pianist John Taylor and began directing his own ensembles. After arriving in New York in 2006, he finished a master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music under Kenny Barron and Jason Moran. His debut leader date, Consequences, appeared on the Positone label as a quintet session that also featured bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Tyshawn Sorey.
Escreet next recorded for the Mythology label, issuing Don’t Fight the Inevitable in 2010 and The Age We Live In in 2011, both again with Binney. In 2011 he and Binney formed a quartet for Exception to the Rule on Criss Cross, completed by bassist Eivind Opsvik and drummer Nasheet Waits. The 2013 album Sabotage and Celebration broadened the ensemble still further, setting Binney beside saxophonist Chris Potter, Kneebody trumpeter Shane Endsley, and additional players while incorporating atmospheric string arrangements and electronic touches. Sunnyside Records then became the home for Sound, Space and Structures in 2014 and The Unknown in 2016, both featuring the quartet of Evan Parker, John Herbert, and Tyshawn Sorey.
Learn to Live, released in 2018, blended electronic and acoustic textures and introduced trumpeter Nicholas Payton, saxophonist Greg Osby, bassist Matt Brewer, and dual percussionists Eric Harland and Justin Brown. Beyond his own projects, Escreet has appeared on recordings by Amir ElSaffar, Alex Sipiagin, Wayne Krantz, Seamus Blake, Logan Richardson, Harish Raghavan, Nir Felder, Nate Wood, and numerous others. A sustained collaboration with Grammy-winning drummer Antonio Sanchez produced the albums New Life in 2013, The Meridian Suite in 2015, and Lines in the Sand in 2019. Following his own relocation to Los Angeles, Escreet issued the trio album Seismic Shift in 2022 with Revis and Reid; the addition of Mark Turner led to the same group’s 2024 release, The Epicenter of Your Dreams.
