John Escreet
Sabotage and Celebration
Whirlwind Recordings ***1/2
Eerie strings open Sabotage and Celebration, the latest album from pianist John Escreet, the 29-year-old Doncaster-born player’s fifth album released since moving to live in New York. The pianist has assembled a starry cast of players to join him including David Binney, a long time collaborator, and Binney's fellow saxophonist Chris Potter, plus bassist Matt Brewer, and drummer Jim Black. Recorded last November the day after the US presidential election, the title referring to both voter sabotage and pleasure at President Obama's victory, it’s a tough, demanding listen but rewarding as well. You’ll come away from the fast moving and cleverly put together ‘He Who Dares’ with a bit of a rush buzzing from Binney’s habitual harshness, and there’s certainly an energy on this record. The title track with Escreet’s quietly brutal chords opening up pitted against the strings as a kind of unblinking chorus takes its time to unwind and when it does there’s a free-form episode you just wouldn’t expect. Other tracks such as ‘Laura Angela’, with Escreet on Rhodes, draw you in more directly from the abstract wilderness and Jim Black begins to chop the beat up expertly. Escreet has quickly become one of the most successful English players of his generation currently based in the States, and this spiky and adventurous album should enhance that reputation still further. Released on 15 October