Matt Renzi

Matt Renzi: Arm-Sized Legging

by Jack Bowers
September 5, 2020

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 ...

Matt Renzi: Rise And Shine

by Dan Bilawsky
February 10, 2014

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, ...

Matt Renzi: Happy Hour

by Dan McClenaghan
May 7, 2011

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 ...

Matt Renzi: Between the Lines

by Blaine Fallis
August 11, 2009

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 ...

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. ...

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 To Release "Arm-Sized Legging" Featuring His Chamber Jazz Ensemble July 1st

Source: Matt Renzi
June 24, 2020

Three P’s Records is pleased to announce the July 1 release of Arm-Sized Legging, tenor saxophonist/clarinetist/ composer Matt Renzi’s perfectly crafted new album featuring his chamber-jazz project, the Cello Quartet. The recording showcases Renzi as both a soloist and composer and features Jessica Ivry/Daniela Petracchi on Cello, John Wiitala on Bass and Tim Bulkley on drums. Arm-Sized Legging covers a wide variety of sonorities and musical textures ranging from intimate, lyrical melodies to more abstract pieces taking the listener on ...
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Reed Player/Composer Matt Renzi To Release 8th Album As A Leader, "Rise And Shine," Jan. 14

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
December 12, 2013

For his eighth CD as a leader, Rise and Shine, the versatile reed player and composer Matt Renzi further solidifies his reputation as a unique innovator and deeply probing musical traveler. Heard here on tenor saxophone, flute, oboe, and clarinet, the Rome-based Renzi reunites with his longtime trio—bassist Dave Ambrosio and drummer Russ Meissner—who are joined by three intriguing guests. The new CD will be released January 14 by the Three P’s label. “We’ve developed our language,” Renzi says of ...
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Reedman/Composer Matt Renzi Interviewed at AAJ

Source: Michael Ricci
August 11, 2009

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. Performing internationally, it tends to push the limits of music that is simultaneously structured and wide open.

AAJ Contributor Blaine Fallis interviewed Renzi after reviewing ...
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Sten Hostfalt, Melissa Kassel & Matt Renzi at Abc No Rio NYC March 16

Source: All About Jazz
March 15, 2008

LIVE IN CONCERT sunday MARCH 16 2008 at 8 pm / $7 at ABC NO RIO, NEW YORK CITY STEN HOSTFALT - guitar MELISSA KASSEL - voice MATT RENZI - saxophones and clarinets “Melissa Kassel is among the best vocalists to appear in years" - Harvey Pekar, WBCN, NPR “Sten Hostfalt may be considered Groundbreaking"
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Sten Hostfalt / Matt Renzi / Marko Djordjevic Bowery Poetry Club, Feb 25

Source: All About Jazz
February 22, 2008

LIVE at THE BOWERY POETRY CLUB, NYC Monday, FEBRUARY 25 2008 at 9 pm $8 cover Sten Hostfalt - Guitar, Compositions Matt Renzi - Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet Marko Djordjevic - Drums “Renzi is Ready for Prime Time" - JAZZIZ Magazine “Djordjevic is a Drumming Star" - MODERN DRUMMER “Hostfalt May be Considered Groundbreaking"- JAZZ REVIEW
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