John Escreet’s “Seismic Shift” feat. Eric Revis & Damion Reid

Dinner Special:
Roasted Hawayej Spiced Chicken & Root Vegetables
Rice Pilaf
House Salad & Baguette
*meat & veggie chili will be available to order at the counter

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Pianist John Escreet, hailed by Time Out London as a “transatlantic jazz genius,” continues his artistic ascent with the bold, exploratory new album Seismic Shift. It is Escreet’s ninth album as a leader but his first at the helm of a trio. The UK native, former Brooklynite, and now Los Angeles transplant teams up with fellow Angelenos bassist Eric Revis and drummer Damion Reid for a project brimming with fire and invention.  Seismic Shift offers ground-shaking evidence that Escreet, with his limitless technique, harmonic imagination, and refined grasp of the improviser’s art, ranks as one of the top pianist auteurs of our time.

The world of Seismic Shift is on one level what the title implies: it involves tumult, rupture, and earthquake. Escreet and his colleagues unleash a lot of power, whether freely improvising, sculpting sound with extended techniques, or for that matter playing elegant tonal harmony. “Any music I present needs to be varied,” Escreet says. “There needs to be beauty alongside the wild moments, moments of tonality against moments of abstraction. Most of all, any idea put forward, whether composed or improvised, needs to have clarity and purpose.”

John Escreet Website
(Ticket Includes 5% City of Santa Cruz Admission Tax)