A mixture of modern classical and modern jazz aesthetics, featuring elegant and virtuosic works for piano, violin, clarinet & bass clarinet, soprano & tenor saxophones, and electric & upright bass.

7 MP3 Songs
AVANT GARDE: Modern Composition, JAZZ: Chamber Jazz

Show all album songs: Matt Small's Chamber Ensemble, "The Royal Collection of Exotic Beasts" Songs


Details:
San Francisco-based composer and bassist Matt Small creates music that blurs the boundaries between divergent musical styles, producing a uniquely fresh sound. Small has found inspiration from a vast array of music, including Western classical, jazz, American pop, and traditional music styles from around the world. Each genre has influenced his tastes and creative yearnings, and continues to inform his compositions and playing. Musically, Small challenges the expectations of traditional and non-traditional musical worlds, while at the same time composing music that is interesting, viscerally attractive, and accessible.

Smallâs current project, Matt Small's Chamber Ensemble, has been heard in performance throughout the Bay Area since 2002. Born of the composer's desire to write complex material with a strong improvisatory concept, the quintet (bass, piano, sax, clarinet, violin) blends elements of a classical ensemble with those of a flexible jazz/improvisatory group. The Ensembleâs repertoire is comprised of Smallâs recent compositions written for this instrumentation. Small has released two CDâs with this group, On the Verge of Sentiment (2005), and The Royal Collection of Exotic Beasts (2006).

From 1998 to 2002, Small wrote for, performed in, and produced his band, the Crushing Spiral Ensemble. The groupâs performances included appearances at the San Francisco Jazz Festival (2001), the Monterey Jazz Festival (2000), the San Jose Jazz Festival (2000), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2000), and numerous appearances at Bay Area venues, such as Yoshiâs, Brunoâs, and others. Small and his music were also featured on National Public Radioâs "West Coast Live" in 1999 and 2000, which included live performances and interviews on air. Small released two albums with this group which featured his compositions exclusively, Pictures of an Inhibition (1999), and The Count of San Francisco (2000).

"Beautifully surreal and hauntingly languidâ¦demonstrating Smallâs affinity for wry humor and quiet grandiosity" said the San Francisco Bay Guardian of the first release. The San Francisco Weekly described the second album as "seductive and mysteriousâ¦shifting effortlessly among klezmer, pop, rock, and improv jazzâ¦Small infuses his quirky compositions with both breadth and intimacy." Comprised of a rotating cast of Bay Area-based musicians, the Ensemble was primarily a vehicle for Smallâs writing and bass playing. The San Francisco Examiner hailed "Smallâs magnificent and imaginative bass playing creates a kaleidoscope of impressive soundsâ¦the music (the Crushing Spiral Ensemble) plays has an integrity and excitement about it that many of the veteran jazz giants seem to have lost over the years."

Smallâs next project, The Bedlam Royals Song Project, is an extension of the Chamber Ensemble platform, incorporating vocalists, actors, and a drummer making for a revelatory new vocally propelled project. CD coming to CD Baby in Spring 2008!