John Escreet Challenges the Senses with"Sabotage and Celebration"

Sabotage and Celebration WR4634 2013

                                         

John Escreet is a twenty-nine year old pianist originally hailing from Doncaster, England who has resided stateside since 2006. He studied at the Manhattan School of Music with the pianists Kenny Baron and Jason Moran. His album Consequences from 2008 was hailed by the New York Times’ Nate Chinen as

“a highly accomplished debut.” Mr. Escreet, now living in Brooklyn, has become an increasingly omnipresent part of the progressive music scene in New York. Besides leading his own groups, he can be heard in the piano chair on Jamie Baum’s fine new release In This Life and on  Alchemy  with  the progressive Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir El Saffar. I have been intrigued by the pianist's rapid development.

Mr. Escreet’s  Sabotage and Celebration is a complex and intriguing album that showcases the young pianist's increasing maturation as a composer. Like his playing, the album challenges the senses. It has moments of majestic, lyrical beauty, like the expansive “He Who Dares” and the melodic “Laura Angela,” as well as stretches of difficult, discordant free improvisations, like the aptly titled songs “Sabotage and Consequences,” “The Decapitator” or the jagged “Animal Style.” Oftentimes these elements are woven into the same composition creating jarring juxtapositions. Mr. Escreet's musical vocabulary is effective, creating aural images that relay ideas that he is trying to express. Harsh jabs at the piano, squealing honks of the saxophone or piercing squeals of a trumpet have all been used by Mr. Escreet to make his point. On this album he also deftly orchestrates both string and brass sections that create dramatic backdrops for his more expansive compositions, like “Beyond Your Wildest Dreams” and the aforementioned “He Who Dares.” The music swells organically creating a atmospheric surround  that allows for the eruptive solos and taut ensemble playing to soar.

Throughout it all, Escreet’s formidable technique as a pianist is allowed to blossom. He agilely creates passages that range from single note ruminations to explosive bursts. His effective use of the synchronous and dueling voices of saxophonists of David Binney and Chris Potter on “He Who Dares” create a magical interlude. Escreet can play with extraordinary beauty, resplendent with crescendos of sound that belie a classical background. Make no mistake about it, Mr. Escreet wishes to challenge the boundaries of the music he creates with an approach that seems to have one foot in the lyrical and one foot in the abstract. While I struggle with some of the ear assaulting dissonance of the abstract parts of his music at times,
as he continues in his maturation process, I find myself being able to appreciate his efforts more and more. On Sabotage and Celebration Mr. Escreet creates moments of magic that are all too rarely found in a great deal of modern jazz and for this he is an artist to be watched closely.

Personnel: John Escreet, piano, Fender Rhodes, Harpsichord;  David Binney, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone track 7; Chris Potter, tenor saxophone; Matt Brewer, bass, Jim Black, drums. Adam Rodgers, guitar track7; String Section : Fung Chern Hwei, violin; Annette Homann, violin; Hannah Levinson, Viola; Mariel Roberts, cello; Garth Stevenson, double bass; Brass Section: Shane Endsley, trumpet; Josh Rosemena, trombone. Vocals Louis Cole , Genevieve Artadi, Nina Greiger track 7.

Casting for Gravity Donny McCaslin's Adventurous Journey into the Unknown

"Casting for Gravity" GRE=1028

The saxophonist Donny McCaslin has been steadily adding to a body of work that is firmly establishing him as a powerful voice in modern creative music. As a in-demand sideman on such interesting recent efforts like Ryan Truesdale’s Gil Evans Project Centennial , a valued member of trumpeter Dave Douglas’s Quintet and Maria Schneider’s Orchestra, or on his own recent impressive efforts as a leader on albums like Recommended Tools, Declaration and PerpetualMotion,  watching McCaslin mature is  like watching a seedling develop into a mighty oak.  As with any artist who is pushing his boundaries there are moments of brilliance and moments of disappointment, but for the most part McCaslin has consistently moved the bar higher and higher.

If music as art has the higher purpose to move its audience, than certainly McCaslin is a successful artist, as he seems to do so with a force of nature approach to his instrument. His latest offering Castingfor Gravity is a case in point. After dipping his toe in the waters of electro/acoustic music in his last album Perpetual Motion, McCaslin has decided to explore what full integration into electronica can bring to his musical palette. He wants to make music that can utilize, as he says, “…more sonic layers” which he hopes will challenge him into deeper exploratory terrain. It may also be a way for him to expand his following by tapping into more modern musical influences and fusing them with his own brand of artistry. Lord knows jazz needs to expand its musical audience.

He is joined here by the keyboardist Jason Lindner, the electric bassist Tim LeFebvre and the cyclonic drummer Mark Guiliana.  The visionary alto saxophonist and producer David Binney adds a composition, vocals and synthesizers to the mix. These musicians bring their own kind of ionically charged energy to this album.

McCaslin claims influence for some of this album came from Britiish electronica musician Richard D. James, who performs under the pseudonym of Aphex Twin and from the Scottish duo Boards of Canada whose song “Alpha and Omega” he uses as the jumping off point for his own jet fueled excursion.

I am particularly taken by McCaslin and Guiliana together in such pieces like the ever ascending “Stadium Jazz” and the staccato “Tension”. It is as if these two atomic reactors combine in harmonic resonance creating a fusion like implosion of energy.. Lindner’s driving piano and synthesizer and Lefebvre pulsing bass work in lock step to produce the firm rhythmic background that allows these two seemingly unstoppable forces to probe forward into the abyss.

“Losing Track of Daylight” is perhaps the most groove-based of the compositions, with LeFebvre’s pliant bass lines leading the way behind Guiliana’s in-the-pocket playing. Lindner’s expansive keyboard creates an airy, floating sound that dances over cloud like layers of shimmering cymbals and snapping snares. McCaslin honks his way in a playful but penetrating display of horn dynamics.

The multilayered “Alpha and Omega” is a demonstration of “the layered sound” that McCaslin is trying to create. With its repeating saxophone and synthesizer motif setting the landscape for Guiliana’s explosive drum outbursts the mood created is eerily hypnotic.

On Binney’s crescendo building “Praia Grande” the group dynamic is at its most unified and McCaslin’s tenor soars with unrestrained energy and unbridled passion.

The title track “Casting for Gravity” has LeFebvre playing the opening line on his electric bass in a guitar-like riff with Guiliana’s cadenced drum work reminiscent of the early electronica group Portishead.  McCaslin slowly enters with a repeating serpentine saxophone call that pre-dominates the rest of the tune to its coda.

“Henry” is a softer more introspective piece named after McCaslin’s infant son. Sensitively played by Lindner on a electric piano with a distinctively dreamy sound. The group seem to find an inner gentleness on this one that is quite compelling. McCaslin’s warm, probing sound is fluid and emotive; a father’s tender call out to his son. As the group warms up to the increased tempo, the intensity follows but never upstages the underlying love that seems to pour from McCaslin’s horn.

In many ways McCaslin’s journey into electronica is like a journey into the unknown. He is Casting for Gravity when he goes into this realm and it will not be for everyone, but it courageous and a powerful musical statement that has moments of brilliance and maybe prove to be an important  portal for expanding the shrinking jazz audience

Musicians: Donny McCaslin, Tenor Saxophone; Jason Lindner, Electric and Acoustic Pianos, Synthesizers; Tim Lefebvre, Electric Bass; Mark Guiliana Drums, David Binney, vocals and additional sythesizers.

Review of Donny McCaslin’s “ Perpetual Motion”

Perpetual Motion
Donny McCaslin

Perpetual Motion Greenleaf Music

Recorded at Systems Two, Brooklyn, NY September 2010

Saxophonist Donny McCaslin is a stalwart of the New York jazz scene and has played as an effusive sideman for many of New York’s finest musicians. He usually can be found as a member of the Maria Schneider orchestra as well as the Mingus Band and has lent his talents to the works of pianist Danilo Perez, vibraphonist Gary Burton, trumpeter/composer
Dave Douglas and the progressive group
Steps Ahead ,where he replaced the late Michael Brecker. His development as a both a player and a composer of his own music has been like watching a rare flower unfold before your eyes. From his recent recordings as a leader
“Recommended Tools” and “Declaration” , McCaslin has left an ever expanding palette of music to listen to and savor. On this latest offering, he was purportedly nudged by friend, producer and fellow saxophonist David Binney,
to work in a more electric format.

From the beginning notes of this new album from the saxophonist, you can feel the energy and enthusiasm that has been injected into this effort. With a rolling fusillade of action packed into the opening by master drummer
 Antonio Sanchez, “Five Hands Down” sets the tone for what is to follow. McCaslin’s angular attack is filled with aggression and frenzy, as he pierces the high register of his horn or stabs with punctuated notes in conversation with Sanchez.

On the title track, “Perpetual Motion”, McCaslin circuitously plays in concert with the Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano sounds of Adam Benjamin before he states the fragment of a melody that catches your attention, an ever escalating cry of exclamation. Tim LeFebvre’s bass and Sanchez’s drums follow McCaslin’s explorational solo, a cascade of notes, a plethora of changing tones, with multiple variations of attack and timbers. A demonstration of free and inspired playing. Benjamin takes an airy solo that makes perfect use of the Fender Rhode’s s late seventies fusion sound. When McCaslin returns to his barest of melody lines, in the last quarter of the song,  he whips it into a frenzy of poignancy.

The composition “Claire” finds McCaslin honking away in a staccato exchange with Sanchez. It is these dueling masters that make for some of the most memorable moments on the album. Sanchez seems to be everyone’s drummer of choice these days and it is easy to see why, as he is a master of percussive communication with seemingly inexhautible vitality. McCaslin, for his part, alternates between high screeches to mellow, low register sustained notes. Benjamin is again effective in utilizing the unique sound quality and feel of the Fender Rhodes. As Sanchez and Lefebvre dance in the background, Benjamin takes us on an astral adventure that is delightfully buoyant.

Much of McCaslin’s music uses the barest armature of a structure, be it melodic or rhythmic, upon which to build his musical excursions. On “Firefly”, the use of electronic sounds, presumably by Binney and Benjamin over Sanchez’s cymbals, set the background for McCaslin’s saxophone wandering. He flutters through the electronic haze like a firefly through a fog before reaching for daylight and clarity towards the end of the piece.

“Energy Generation” has a backbeat that that allows McCaslin to stretch out his more funky side, but even in this vein his playing has a sense of urgency and a lack of cliché. With Sanchez and Lefebvre driving the beat you can’t help but feel the groove.

The second part of this album takes a sharp turn into funky town and seems a bit disconnected to the first part. On “Memphis Redux”, the energy level is palpably turned down a notch to simmer like a slow cooking gumbo. McCaslin’s soulful side is on display here and he has some fine moments of raw, gutsy playing. Benjamin’s solo on piano is peppered by electronic sounds from Binney, making this music sound less dated.

On “L.Z.C.M.” the sound is an electronic funk with a driving beat by Guiliana and Benjamin on Rhodes. Despite the plethora of electronic sounds and McCaslin’s  clarion saxophone work, there is less excitement and less continuity to my ear.

“East Bay Grit” is thirty seconds of fading into a groove.

“Impossible Machine” has a quick paced, complex line that features a splendid duet with Binney on alto and McCaslin on tenor pacing each other in precise synchronicity. This is drummer Mark Guiliana’s best work of his four cuts on the album. McCaslin and Binney play extremely well together and the ending is tart, crisp and surgical.

Uri Caine’s solo piano on the finale “For Someone” is a pretty ballad but somewhat detached from the rest of the album and in my mind a strange way to end what is on balance, such a high energy outing.

Musicians: Donny McCaslin (tenor saxophone); Adam Bejamin (Fender Rhodes & Piano)tracks 1-7 &9 ; Tim LeFebvre ( electric bass) ; Antonio Sanchez ( drums tracks 1-5) ; Mark Guiliana ( drums) tracks 6-9; Uri Cane (piano) tracks 4 & 10 (Fender Rhodes & piano) track 8; David Binney (alto saxophone ) track 9 (electronics ) multiple tracks.

"In Session" with Brazilian Drummer Adriano Santos and his Quartet

Artist: Adriano Santos

CD: Adriano Santos “ In Session” (KingJazzAd Music)

From the opening bars of this surprising album you can tell there is something special going on, you can’t stop moving to its alluring beat. With a careful selection of  exciting compositions from some of  Brazil’s most accomplished composers, drummer and percussionist Adriano Santos has produced a stirring, masterfully executed and throughly entertaining compilation of Brazilian jazz.

Playing drums from an early age in Brazil, he took his music seriously. In 1988 he was accepted  to the prestigious Berklee School of Music and moved to Boston to attend, graduating with a BA in film scoring. Moving to New York in  1995, he attended City College for his masters, where he had ensemble lessons with the great bassist Ron Carter. He has played with a variety of artists including  Claudio Roditi, Helio Alves, Hendrik Meurkens and Bill Charlap.

On this, his debut album as a leader, he has trolled the waters of Brazilian music with compositions by Milton Nasciemento, influential drummer Airto Moreira, and composer Toninho Horta. Opening with Raul Mascaranhas’ up lifting “Sabor Carioca”, David Binney’s free flowing alto serves notice that this is a cooking session.  Binney’s playing throughout this album is a delight as he lets himself be taken over by the infectious nature of these Latin grooves. Alves is no stranger to these Afro-Cuban inspired rythmns and his piano work is superlative. Santos and Ambrosio pulsate like one beating heart as Dendê adds splashes of color with his percussive arsenal.

Nasciemento’s “ From the Lonely Afternoons” takes me back to his fine work with Wayne Shorter on “Native Dancer”, a seminal album. Dendê and Santos brilliantly re-create the humid, verdant sounds of the rain forests teeming with unseen life. Binney’s alto saxophone is not as exotic sounding as Shorter’s original soprano voice, but has its own special intensity and feeling of wanderlust. The only thing that is missing is Milton’s soaring falsetto voice.

On the pensive Horta composition “ De Ton Pra Tom” , Binney, switching to soprano, plays with a searching Shorteresque quality that is both comtemplative and joyful. Alves is particulary lyrical on his piano solo.

Airto’s  “Xibaba”  is the perfect vehicle for Santos indefatiguable rythmic drive. The driving force of his relentless drums with Ambrosio’s pulsating bass propels this tune. Some playful call and response between Binney and Alves lead to a mutli-phonic percussion based coda where Denedê and Santos weave in brilliant interplay.

On  J.T. Mierelles’ “Contemplação”,  the slow building samba tempo is introduced by the bouyant bass of Ambrosio, with deftly floating chords by Alves, followed by a simple statement of the lilting melody by Alves and Binney.  Behind Santos steady pulse, Alves builds on an increasingly interesting piano solo, that is both Latin and bluesy in its essence. This sets the stage for what maybe Binney’s most exhuberhant solo of the album. The character of Binney’s alto solo is warm, liquid and intense. He  successively builds the heat with each measure. The passion that pours from his horn has some of that rare Argentinian sensuality of Gato Barbieri at his best, incendiary. You won’t stop shaking your head and tapping your feet to this captivating song.

The album concludes with three songs by lesser known Brazilian composers. The fusion-like “Pro Zeca”  by Victor Assis Brasil, where  Chick Corea’s influence on Alves is strongly present. David Binney’s powerful saxophone play  could be a stand-in for the late great Joe Farrell’s work during his Return to Forever days.  Moacir Santos’

“Amphibious” , has a fetive Carnival sound to it. The final song is a  
Caymmi & Pinheiro composition  “Ninho da Vespa”  with some stirring piano work by Alves on top of Santos ride cymbal and stacatto trap work.

Adriano Santos “In Session” is an exceptionally listenable album even after repeat plays. A fine debut effort from this astute Brazilian drummer.

Musicians: Andriano Santos (Drums & Percussion); David Binney (Alto Saxophone); Helio Alves ( piano); David Ambrosio ( Acoustic Bass); Dendê (Percussion).

Tracks: Sabor Carioca; From The Lonely Afternoons; De Ton Pra Tom; Xibaba; Contemplacao; Pro Zeca; Amphibious; Ninho Da Vespa.

More Best of Jazz 2009 : Saxophone Jazz

As the year draws to a close I am compelled to mention some of the other fine music that I have heard this past year. Following on the heels of my top five piano based jazz cd's, the following selections each have provided their own special magic for me. As I previously explained these selections are only taken from what I have heard and so my apologies to the artists whose great works I simply didn't have the chance to review this year.

In no particular order: My five top Saxophone based jazz cd's of 2009


David Binney: Third Occasion (mr 0006)
David Binney (composer and alto saxophone); Craig Taborn (piano); Scott Colley (acoustic bass); Brian Blade (drums) Brass Section : Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet); Brad Mason (trumpet, flugelhorn); Corey King (trombone); Andy Hunter (trombone).

This album plays like an extended musical suite. Binney shows his creative talents as a noteworthy composer. His powerful and emotional alto saxophone continues to be a modern and distinctive voice that stands out amongst his peers. Colley and Taborn anchor the proceedings, allowing Blade the opportunity to weave his percussive magic.The effective use of brass adds a dimension to this music that brings it into the realm of orchestrated jazz with a bite. Listen to Binney and Blade skillfully building the tension on Squares and Palaces.Binney has presented an artful offering with promises of more to come.




Donny McCaslin: Declaration (SSC-1218)
Donny McCaslin (tenor saxophone , alto flute); Edward Simon ( acoustic piano); Ben Monder (guitar); Scott Colley (acoustic bass); Antonio Sanchez (drums); Pernell Saturino (percussion). Brass Section: Alex Sipiagin (trumpet); Chris Komer (french horn); Marshall Gilkes (trombone); Marcus Roja (tuba, bass trombone); Tatum Greenblatt(trumpet)

Donny McCaslin has been one of a new breed of tenor saxophonists that have taken up the mantle left by the late Michael Brecker. He has been an integral sideman for many of today's most creative bands and now is bursting into his own as a formidable solo artist. He possesses a fiery delivery that is not just bluster but a true extension of his inner burning flame. With Declaration he has made a brilliant, swinging and at times inspiring record of unusual beauty, passion and warmth.

Justin Vasquez : Triptych
Justin Vasquez (Alto & Soprano Saxophone); Aaron Parks (Piano);Adam Rodgers
(acoustic and electric guitars);Orlando Le Fleming(bass);Clarence Penn(drums);Gregoire Marmet (harmonica); Gretchen Parlatto (voice).

As a debut album, Triptych, is simply way above anything else I have heard from a new artist. Young Vasquez shows some real moxie on this creative, intelligent and enjoyable maiden voyage. He utilizes the voices of his various musicians very effectively. Vasquez is joined by a stellar group of musicians who organically weave his compositions into beautiful and coherent pieces of music. Special note to Adam Rodgers' wonderful guitar work on Nimbus. Gretchen Parlatto's haunting vocals on Triptych and Aaron Parks' sympathetic work throughout. An artist that we should be looking to for great things to come in the future.


James Moody : Moody 4A (ipoc 1016)
James Moody (Tenor Saxophone); Kenny Barron (piano); Todd Coolman (bass); Lewis Nash (drums).

From the start of this album, with his playful but robust rendition of Secret Love you know you're in for a treat by a master. Moody's smooth, full toned saxophone is a pleasure to behold. He easily breathes refreshing ideas into old standards like 'Round Midnight, Stella by Starlight and East of the Sun making it obvious that he still has something to say in his inimitably joyful way. Moody is joined by the masterful Kenny Barron on piano and the fine rhythm section of Todd Coolman and Lewis Nash. These guy know and respect the tradition and it shows. At age eighty-four Moody is the keeper of the flame. Based on his mellifluous playing, (check out his easy swing on Kenny Barron's Voyage) the flame will be burning for quite some time within him.


Charlie Mariano with Philip Catherine and Jasper Van't Hof: The Great Concert (ENJ-95322).

With the passing of the great tenor saxophonist Charlie Mariano this year, the jazz world sadly lost one of it's truly creative voices. With this posthumously released live recording of this wonderful concert, we see the unbridled passion that Mariano could release from his horn at the ripe young age of eighty five! Beautiful to behold. Unfortunately for most American listeners, Mariano made his home in Europe since the early seventies. Many of us were deprived of seeing his penetrating artistry first hand. On this last concert, recorded in Stuttgart,Germany in May of 2009 with the wonderfully empathetic guitar virtuoso Philip Catherine and the pianist Jasper Van't Hof we find Mariano in a most pensive yet powerful mood. His voice is bright, clear and brimming with emotion. An extraordinarily powerful piece of music and a fitting epitaph to a lifetime of fine music.

Special mention to Joe Lovano's :Folk Art ; Joshua Redman's: Compass and Loren Stillman's:Winter Fruits