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Matt Renzi: Presenza
by Dan McClenaghan
On Presenza, reedmanMatt Renzi and his new quartet--the first one featuring a piano--opens with an audacious burst of sound. The tune, “Loving Kindness," one of nine Renzi originals featured here, sounds as if the saxophonist and his quartet mates are serious about the subject, crafting a high-octane burner that takes no prisoners. Renzie tears it up, and the rhythm guys--pianist Dahveed Behroozi, bassist Josh Thurston-Milgrom and drummer Tim Bulkley lay down a jagged backdrop, and Renzi blows like a storm. ...
Continue ReadingMatt Renzi: Arm-Sized Legging
by Jack Bowers
Arm-Sized Legging, saxophonist Matt Renzi's sixth album as leader, features his Cello Quartet, basically a piano-less jazz trio with cello added, for what purpose it is hard to ascertain. Cellos aren't normally associated with jazz—as some would argue, for good reason—and this session does little to further their cause. Yes, the cello does add another “voice," but whether that voice is gratifying or even necessary rests in large measure in the ears of the hearkener. Clearly, it is not a ...
Continue ReadingMatt Renzi: Rise And Shine
by Dan Bilawsky
Continuity and freshness, while theoretically at odds with one another, are the two things that tend to fuel group development in the arts. Only time can create bonds of trust and help to crystallize concepts and language shared between artists, but consistency can breed predictability. So how can an artist balance the scales, allowing their work to benefit from both? The answer--or secret--lies in multi-reedist Matt Renzi's Rise And Shine. For his eighth album as a leader, ...
Continue ReadingMatt Renzi - Stefano Senni - Jimmy Weinstein: 4 Stories
by AAJ Italy Staff
4 stories documenta una session di improvvisazioni che Matt Renzi, Stefano Senni e Jimmy Weinstein hanno inciso nello studio padovano del batterista. Nelle note di copertina, i tre musicisti spiegano che la registrazione della session non era stata fatta con l'intenzione di produrre un disco. La decisione in questo senso è stata presa solo in un secondo momento. Indubbiamente, la lunga frequentazione tra Renzi e Weinstein e l'esperienza di tutti e tre gli improvvisatori hanno contribuito alla riuscita formale e ...
Continue ReadingArmando Sciommeri: L'attesa
by AAJ Italy Staff
L'attesa si riferisce a una seduta di registrazione del luglio 2008 capitanata dal batterista Armando Sciommeri, alla quale hanno preso parte, in due dei sei brani proposti, anche il pianista Alessandro Gwis e il saxofonista Daniele Tittarelli. Tutti originali firmati, o cofirmati, dal leader, tranne la conclusiva “Kary" autografata dal chitarrista Enrico Bracco, che rilasciano una sensazione di pacatezza esecutiva, in quanto siamo nell'ambito di tempi medi e dall'incedere calibrato, caratterizzati da melodie che si intrecciano senza fretta, cantabili e ...
Continue ReadingMatt Renzi: Happy Hour
by Dan McClenaghan
Reedman Matt Renzi's Happy Hour is curiously titled, given the music at hand. A “Happy Hour" brings cheap drinks and cacophonous good times in the bar room to mind. The CD of that name opens with a tranquil reverie, as mystical, inward-looking and spiritually directed as a late-period Impulse! John Coltrane rumination. The trio format is Renzi's primary form of expression. He and bassist Dave Ambrosio, along with drummer Russ Meissner, have performed together as a group since ...
Continue ReadingMatt Renzi: Between the Lines
by Blaine Fallis
Matt Renzi is a multi-reedist, best known for his tenor sax playing and clarinet (his two main horns), but who has a knack for picking up other instruments as needed such as oboe, piccolo and flute. His New York City-based trio has been well-recognized for its group improv and composition and has recorded several CDs. Also performing internationally, it tends to push the limits of music that is simultaneously structured and wide open.
A San Francisco native, Renzi ...
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