Matt Cricscuolo

Matt Cricscuolo: Melancholia

by Woodrow Wilkins
February 9, 2009

Take a quartet, add some strings, and you'll get an elegant seasoning to flavor jazz. Alto saxophonist Matt Criscuolo accomplishes this with Melancholia, his third album as a leader. Criscuolo has a knack for embracing the hard bop style, yet adding some contemporary improvisation. His credits include work with David Murray, and Etta James, and he counts among his influences Murray, Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman. For Melancholia, named for a Billy Eckstine composition covered here, Criscuolo is ...