Jazz Articles about Matt Renzi

Matt Renzi: Lunch Special

by Blaine Fallis
July 9, 2009

Lunch Special should win a marketing award for having the freshest CD design concept, although the actual photo of linguine with oysters used as the CD imprint may not be as fresh as the music itself. At least the designer was nice enough to reveal a relatively clean plate inside the tray card once the CD is removed. However, a long and winding piece of linguine is not a bad way to describe a typical sax line from Matt Renzi, ...

Matt Renzi: Lunch Special

by Glenn Astarita
June 8, 2009

This Brooklyn, NY-based progressive jazz trio brings memorable compositional frameworks and intriguing improvisational endeavors to the proverbial table. Saxophonist Matt Renzi is a well-schooled musician who possesses a fertile imagination. The evidence lies within the buoyant works that are partly devised upon subtle tension and release statements and pulsating flows, abetted by his trio's democratic mode of operation. Renzi's angular phrasings slash a path through lyrically rich theme-building maneuvers amid a few tender moments and shrewdly placed dynamics. ...

Armando Sciommeri: Lo schiavo

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 12, 2008

Il batterista Armando Sciommeri si è affermato nell’ambiente romano per un ottimo senso del tempo, un modo originale di accompagnare ed un grande istinto, virtù che lo hanno portato a collaborare con musicisti affermati come Mario Raja e Pietro Lussu, o - nell'ambito teatrale - Giorgio Albertazzi. Dopo tanto lavoro come side-man ha deciso di pubblicare Lo schiavo, disco autoprodotto e distribuito dall’etichetta indipendente Bonn-Rell Records, per il quale ha voluto un gruppo bene assortito che include Matt Renzi al ...

Matt Renzi: The Cave

by Michael P. Gladstone
January 11, 2006

I've always approached a piano-less trio like this sax/bass/drums combo with at least some trepidation. In the world of free jazz, it is, more or less, a rather standard pairing of instruments that allows for greater freedom without the chorded support from piano (or guitar). Within mainstream jazz, the work of Sonny Rollins (notably during his Blue Note days), Joe Lovano, and at least some recordings by Joe Henderson present one side of the spectrum in which the saxophonist is ...

Matt Renzi: The Cave

by Jim Santella
December 11, 2005

Matt Renzi's warm tenor saxophone voice gives his newest album a smoky texture that allows one to settle back and dream of distant lands and faraway places. His inspiration came from living in Japan, Italy, India, and New York over a four-year span. They're visions that last a lifetime, and Renzi has figured out how to share them with his audience through means other than the usual photograph album or slide show. His compositions capture the essence vividly and translate ...

Matt Renzi: The Cave

by John Kelman
November 23, 2005

While not an uncommon format, the saxophone trio is often a more challenging context than piano or guitar-led groups. Without the benefit of a chordal instrument, a saxophone/bass/drums trio can feel like a quartet minus one, as opposed to a complete entity unto itself.

Not so with this group led by saxophonist/clarinetist Matt Renzi, a San Francisco native who has spent the past few years living in a variety of locations--Japan, New York, India, and Italy. His trio with bassist ...

Matt Renzi: The Cave

by Dan McClenaghan
November 10, 2005

From reedman Matt Renzi's wanderlust comes The Cave, music inspired by a four-year period when the musician lived in Japan, New York, India, and Italy.On this approachable trio effort, Renzi and company have crafted a sound that walks a line between the familar and the exotic, a music full of cool tones and wandering melodies. Renzi splits his time between tenor saxophone and clarinet, and the mood is often haunting, especially on the tenor tunes, his own having ...