The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and pianist/composer John Escreet. His next album, The Epicenter of Your Dreams, will be released 7 June 2024. It’s a second recorded outing with his trio, which includes double bassist Eric Revis and drummer Damion Reid. This time, they are joined by saxophonist extraordinaire Mark Turner. Links to purchase The Epicenter of Your Dreams, and to Escreet’s website, can be found at the bottom of this article.
“Everyone needs an angle, which is a bit frustrating sometimes.”
So says John Escreet, an exceptional jazz practitioner, during a call about his new trio album with the illustrious saxophonist Mark Turner. Jazz is a form that rewards subtle advancements and evolutions, which don’t necessarily lend themselves to press-forward talking points.
This evolution has been a fruitful one for Escreet. He debuted his trio, consisting of himself, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Damion Reid, on 2022’s Seismic Shift. Now, that band steps out – with Turner augmenting and elevating their sound – on The Epicenter of Your Dreams.
In jazz, that’s the most important sort of ‘angle’: a honed artist taking the next evolutionary step. Read on about this punchy, vibrant date with two masters at the helm.
UK Jazz News: What’s your history with Mark Turner and his music?
John Escreet: I’ve known him forever, just from being around New York for a long time, but we hardly ever worked together for whatever reason. We crossed paths a couple of times, and I’d always wanted to work with him a bit more. And then, lo and behold – he popped up here in LA after a few years, and he’s kind of a resident here now.
After I’d put the trio together, and had so much fun and some success with that, it seemed like a natural idea. I went to Mark and said, “I have this group that I’ve been working with; it’s kind of got a vibe now. Do you want to join us on some quartet stuff?”
And he was totally down. He’s always been familiar with both of those guys.
UKJN: What can you tell us about the tunes on The Epicenter of Your Dreams?
JE: A few of them are new tunes. It was basically a combination of material that we’ve been playing on some live gigs, and then a few new things that I wrote. I have gone through the process of workshopping the music on some live gigs, so I knew what I was dealing with heading into the studio.
There’s another Stanley Cowell tune on there. I wanted to keep that thread going, because we did “Equipoise,” the Stanley Cowell tune, on our previous album [2022’s Seismic Shift]. It seemed to work really well, especially for Mark.
We did an older tune of mine called “Trouble and Activity,” which is maybe 14 years old.
I like people to kind of dig in and find themselves, explore, and not get too bogged down with the notes of the music – although, obviously, there are a lot of notes to deal with. I like to have a good balance of things that people have to play, and allowing them freedom and space to do whatever they do.
UKJN: Can you talk about the session itself?
JE: It was pretty relaxed; it was a two-day session, because I don’t like to be too rammed to create it. It was in a studio called Stagg Street in LA.
I was lucky enough to have a nice piano, because the studio piano wasn’t up to scratch. So, we got a very nice piano shipped in, which was a luxury that I don’t always have, you know?
I have enough experience to know how to let the recording session unfold, which was not always the case. Back in the early days, I was always quite nervous and quiet. I used to be quite intense about, “We can’t be relaxing too long,” or “Time is money.”
UKJN: How would you describe writing for Mark Turner, or folding him into your writing, if that’s more accurate?
JE: I didn’t really approach it with a specific way in mind. There were a couple of melodies, like on the tune “Lifeline,” which were really kind of tricky. We had to work a couple of things out, and he had to not play a couple of octaves here and there.
I noticed that he takes things very seriously, which is maybe not surprising. He makes a lot of handwritten notes on his charts, adjustments and stuff. He might remind himself of things to do with the form, or the technical aspects of melody. Or he might rewrite the rhythms so they’re easier for him to read.
He’s very serious and very nice at the same time. He’s diligent about the details of music. It’s inspiring to know he and his work ethic are like that, and humbling to know that he takes my thing seriously enough to give it that kind of attention.
UKJN: What’s the future of this collaboration?
JE: I don’t know the future of anything. The future is, we’ll do as much as we can. Who knows if there will be another album?
I’m just looking for opportunities to take the music as far as I can go. I’ll always be receptive and open to those opportunities, because it’s a very fun time for me, you know?
