Double Bill! John Escreet and Bojan Z - Tetraband Monday 18th January

A superb quality double bill representing two rising stars of the contemporary jazz scene.

Approx Set Times:

19.30-20.20 – John Escreet

20.40-21.30 – Bojan Z

21.50-22.40 – John Escreet

23.00-23.50 – Bojan Z

John Escreet has had a powerful impact, and is emerging as one of the most creative and original pianists on the music scene in New York. He is highly revered amongst his peers for his creativity, openness and for his own original music, which draws inspiration from many different sources, and encompasses them all and much more.

Bojan Z - Tetraband returns to London, with Seb Rochford and Ruth Goller (rhythm section of Acoustic Ladyland) and the Italian trombonist, Gianluca Petrella, for the launch of the new album Humus, a kind of punk jazz-funk alternating melodic subtleties and pulsating rhythms, sweetened with surprising harmonies and a zest of Balkan echoes.  For the last 20 years, the award-winning Bojan Z has brought his Balkan influences to the piano and Fender Rhodes, and his hybrid instrument – the xenophone, creating a unique sound recognised most recently by the Hans Koller Prize for Best European Jazz Artist.

“...an exhilarating demonstration of what freedom of expression can really be about” The Guardian

JOHN ESCREET SHORT BIO

Brilliant young Brit pianist/composer now resident in New York, leads a band of some of the city’s finest, with trumpeter-of-the-moment Ambrose Akinmusire, saxophonist David Binney, bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Nasheet Waits.  Escreet is emerging as one of the most creative and original pianists on the music scene there.

Escreet recently graduated from the Master’s Program at Manhattan School of Music, where he studied piano with Kenny Barron and Jason Moran. But alongside his 2-year program of study, John kept himself busy outside of school. A regular in the jazz clubs in downtown NYC such as the 55 Bar and Smalls Jazz Club he has performed with a wide range of musicians.

Whilst in the UK, he worked with artists as varied as Julian Siegel, Dennis Rollins, Stan Sulzmann, Denys Baptiste, Gerard Presencer, Dave O'Higgins, Christine Tobin, Anita Wardell, Andy Sheppard, Steve Williamson and Kyle Eastwood to name but a few.  He also led his own trios, which included Phil Donkin on bass, and Gene Calderazzo or Tom Skinner on drums.

Press quotes:

 “His technique is impeccable, glistening cascades of notes...” (The Times)

 “Escreet can turn the standards repertoire inside out, but his balance of conventional lyricism and a looser improvisational freedom testifies to the intelligent creative force he is becoming.”

(John Fordham, The Guardian)

“Pianist John Escreet's recent debut Consequences signals the jumpstart of a new voice in jazz” (Downbeat)

“…a scintillating work of modern progressive jazz.  A commanding performer who comps and solos with the percussive flamboyance of Jason Moran, Escreet's imaginative pen brings forth omnivorous music: Andrew Hill's avant-gardism, flawless bop, the eccentricities of free jazz and contemporary composition. Cerebral, gutsy, and filled with personality, Consequences is a discriminating work from a promising talent.” (All About Jazz.com)