The Crushing Spiral Ensemble July 8, 2009

The Crushing Spiral Ensemble, originally formed by San Francisco bassist/composer Matt Small in 1998, is re-emerging from a long hiatus with a new cast of players and a repertoire of new music, written by Small between 2007 and 2009. As before, the Ensemble features a rotating cast of Bay Area players with a core of Ensemble regulars. From 1998 to 2002, Small wrote for, performed in, and produced the original version of this band. The group’s performances included appearances at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and numerous appearances at Bay Area venues, such as Yoshi’s, Bruno’s, Jupiter, Café Du Nord, and others.

Small released two albums with the original group, Pictures of an Inhibition (1999), and The Count of San Francisco (2000). “Beautifully surreal and hauntingly languid…demonstrating Small’s 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 mysterious…shifting effortlessly among klezmer, pop, rock, and improv jazz…Small infuses his quirky compositions with both breadth and intimacy.” In a live concert review, the late, revered Phil Elwood of the San Francisco Examiner raved “Small’s magnificent and imaginative bass playing creates a kaleidoscope of impressive sounds…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.”

Official Website: http://yoshis.com/sanfrancisco/jazzclub/artistpopup?showid=759