Interviews/Press

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Press

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Jazz Podium – 9/09

John Esposito is one of the few pianists who, at the drop of a hat, can play a standard in the style of Willie “The Lion” Smith, Bud Powell, Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock. In English this attribute is called “versatile”, which is only partly rendered into German as “vielseitig” [many-sided] or “wendig” [flexible]. Born in 1953, John Esposito is in the bebop/hardbop tradition, but extends these in innovative ways. Trusted bebop harmonies are thus expanded with complex rhythmical schemes and metric modulations.

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Alain Drouot – 1/06

I read that your grandfather played with Paul Whiteman.

Yeah, I don’t think it lasted very long. My father tells me that my grandfather was fired when he told Paul Whiteman that he wasn’t a musician but a shoemaker. My grandfather tended not to be politically astute. But I’ve found a photo, which is the only way I know he was a jazz musician. He was an eccentric figure, a classical violinist as far as I know.

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Peter Aaron/Roll Magazine – 12/08

You’d be hard pressed to find an artist more locally active than Catskill jazz pianist and composer John Esposito. In addition to playing in innumerable musical settings on any given weekend (chronicled below), Esposito somehow also finds the time to teach music at Bard College several times each week. And on top of that, the Brooklyn-born, Marlboro-raised keyboardist has recently kicked his Sunjump Records label into overdrive, self-releasing no less than five titles over the last two years—with a few more set to follow in the coming months.

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John Esposito Trio: Down Blue Marlin Road

First trio recording by Esposito who critic John Zwed says plays with “…the lustrous clarity of a gamelan band…using repetition so brilliantly that crystalline forms accrue from it.”

“… A virtuoso feat of re-composition as well as performance… jazz purified to the essence.” Kyle Gann – Village Voice

“ Esposito and his trio have taken the jazz cover a step beyond, creating something unique and personal in the process, and seem to be having fun doing it.”
– M.R. Smith – Roll Magazine

“A bold conception and execution to be sure….from a brilliant player who deserves wider attention.” (Critic’s Rating 3 1/2 stars)
– Michael G. Nastos – All Music Guide

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John Esposito Trio: Orisha

“…one of the strongest jazz pianists on the planet, an under-recognized giant.”
– Bruce Lee Gallanter – Downtown Music Gallery

“a superior example of modernistic swing, Esposito making melodic fills shimmer in the midst of a sweeping hurricane of rhythm…”
– Jakob Baekgaard – allaboutjazz.com

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John Esposito Trio: Blues For Outlaw Hearts

“On a set of all Esposito originals, the trio plays like an irresistible force, its implacable nature due to, by turns, the power of the expositions and the breathtaking beauty of the collective musicianship. Drummer Peter O’brien and bassist Ira Coleman accompany Esposito with an assurance bordering on brashness…..The trio displays a collective spirit and fluid majesty…..this cohesive set has a freshness and hopped-up vibrancy that is irresistible.”
– Dan McClenaghan All About Jazz.com

“…showcases Esposito’s own fluid playing…The epic “Sunlight” unleashes an Ahmad Jamal-like exuberance, beams of notes arcing through a late afternoon.”
 Chronogram

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John Esposito Quintet: The Blue People

“…the egoless, ecstatic approach to small group Jazz…with great depth of feeling and boundless rhythmic energy…”
– Stuart Kremsky – Cadence Magazine

“..lucid, forward thinking, rhythmically propelling ideas…he succeeds on many real and important levels in creating some of the finest new modern jazz you may hear in the post Wynton Marsalis era…”
– Michael G. Nastos – All Music Guide

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John Esposito Quintet: Lyra  

Mr. Esposito has organized a superb quintet with all strong, inspired mature-sounding musicians. ….they swing hard, the melodies are both effervescent, memorable & even soulful, the arrangements are slyly crafty and all solos are inspired. There is both a sense of fun going on here as well as an uplifting, finger-snapping quality that can make us all feel better to be alive. ….everything I’ve heard here is equally excellent, there is quite a bit of great music to make this set a winner on many levels. This is modern jazz at its best! – Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG    

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John Esposito Sextet: Laura

  “…the frontline crackling from the first …keeps the focus on Esposito as leader. The width of his voicings leaves plenty of room for both air and for his fellow players…When he does dig in, it’s with a big, open sound…with challenging, fraught harmonies that have been begging to be brought forward.”                                   Chronogram

“… opens with an uplifting, swinging groove with inspired solos from the trumpet, tenor sax, trombone and piano… lush harmonies are both haunting and lovely at the same time, something which is not so easy to pull off…The relaxed pace and lovely melodies of some of these songs is/are exquisite…strong playing and adventurous yet somehow subtle arrangements which seem hidden at times, yet come through…. Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG      

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John Esposito: A Book Of Five Rings

“What is most striking is the support and interplay of the rhythm team, especially John’s dynamic piano. On “Smitty”, it is John’s McCoy-like piano that is most astonishing and powerful, pushing the band higher and higher…The freer moments here are especially inspired and feature some fine soprano and bass clarinet swirling around one another intensely. The final piece, “…And His Spirit Ascended/Trane’s Church” is an uplifting, epic-length, spiritual work which I find to be completely enchanting.”
– Bruce Lee Gallanter – Downtown Music Gallery

“Two Worlds” is a lengthy suite-like performance that alternates accordingly between sections of delicate interplay and cacophonous improvisation. The finale, another suite, “…and His Spirit Ascended/Trane’s Church” builds slowly from a flute led meditation to a full out late period Coltrane ecstatic blowout. It’s quite impressive and the musicians never lose focus during the near half hour long dramatic improvisation. It unfolds like a ceremony and as such is quite an accomplishment.”
– Tim Niland – Jazz and Blues Blogspot

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John Esposito & A Book Of Five Rings: Vulcan

“… the music has an ethereal quality, free-ish and floating yet still focused and somehow tight… the thoughtful ensemble writing… stands out throughout… consistently fascinating and engaging. Another gem from John Esposito and his great Sunjump label all-stars.”
Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG

“ John Esposito and A Book of Five Rings’s miraculous new two-disc set disc, Vulcan..a relentlessly adventuresome…set of never less-than-intriguing music… an instant classic. It just is—a gift fallen from the stars.  Magnificent, entirely on its own terms.”   Michael Eck – Chronogram

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Marx/Siegel/Esposito: Inyo

“…could best be described as unquiet meditations or chaotic lyricism…. a true moment of musical Zen created by three masterful musicians.” – Jakob Baekgaard allaboutjazz.com

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Marx/Siegel/Esposito: Tahrir

“….Esposito also balances things just right ….and pulls off one astonishing solo after the other. What makes this disc so special is the way the trio plays together as one tight force of nature. There is a strong balance between the freer/more spiritual forces and the connected undertow of currents that runs through everything that is going on…. Everything about this disc rings true, consistently inventive and spiritually uplifting. You can’t do much better than that.”     – Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG 

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Second Sight: Flying With The Comet

“ ….a rolling powerhouse of frenetic hard bop in the best tradition of Art Blakey’s perennial Jazz Messengers…swings like mad and bubbles over with lively, effervescent chops to spare. And even better, instead of just cloning the achievements of the past, they can put their own twisty little spins on it…” — Gene Santoro PULSE! 1987

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Second Sight: Tiger Tracks

“…..The brainchild of pianist and composer John Esposito, the band refuses to choose between tradition and innovation. All the traces of the past greats who inspired this music show up clear and sharp as ever in the sound and spirit; that said, these guys let nothing hold them back …. thrumming with intensity….It’s jazz that pushes off the timeline, sounding as fresh as ever.” – Warren Allen allaboutjazz.com