Blostein - Sperrazza Quartet
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Blostein - Sperrazza Quartet

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"BLOSTEIN-SPERRAZZA QUARTET"

Sax player Matt Blostein and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza showed Saturday night the plus side to a vacation by one of the members of their quartet.

Vibes player Tim Collins sat in for pianist Danny Fox at Legends James Street Tavern, providing not only a great difference in the sound of the band, but wonderful improvisations.

His two-mallet exploration of John Coltrane's "Impressions," for instance, started off simply and grew in complexity without even getting mind-boggling.

That would seem to be the overall direction of the New York City band led by the drummer and Butler native Blostein. Tunes such as their original "Sense" are built around oddly syncopated phrasing, but the group presents the material with enough musicality to make it easily comprehendible.

The management at the club once again brought in a lively band that transferred its energy.
- PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW


"For N.Y. quartet, it's all about rehearsals"

A desire to go beyond impromptu sessions helped Butler native Matt Blostein build his quartet with Vinnie Sperrazza.
And a steady cohesion with the other two members keep it going.
"We looked for guys who wanted to rehearse and really get into what direction we're going," says Blostein. "And that isn't easy. In New York, a lot of guys want to get together at sessions and play, but they don't want to spend any time rehearsing."

Blostein and Sperrazza will bring their band and its exploration of originals and standards to the North Side Saturday.
Drummer Sperrazza looks at the band with a similar form of enthusiasm and talks about what a relief it is to have a group that is willing to work together.
"When we formed this band, Matt and I were doing a lot of jobs we weren't too excited about," he says. "Run-of-the-mill jazz gigs, you know? Now it's great to have a band that is going where we want it."

The band, which also includes keyboardist Danny Fox and bassist Peter Brendler, takes a contemporary look at jazz, with up-to-date rhythms and tunes that in no way are remnants of the bebop era.
Blostein says they will play standards, too, depending on the audience. But he says all four members of the band are "fairly good writers," so new material always is developing, helping give the band its own identity.

He and Sperrazza talk about how they are working on new tunes to use for an album they hope to be able to market. Right now they have a demo CD, but they want to take it beyond that.
"It's time for us to make a mature statement about our sound," Sperrazza says. He says listeners Saturday will hear three, perhaps four, new songs.
Blostein says the band fell together after he and Sperrazza met in 2002 at a jazz camp in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The saxophonist had graduated from the Manhattan School of Music and was back in Butler, trying to put together a living performing and teaching.

He decided to take his musical battle to New York City, where Sperrazza, who grew up in Upstate New York, also was waging one. After they met keyboardist Fox they started thinking about putting together their own band. Fox, however, won't be with the band this weekend. He's vacationing in Israel and will be replaced by Tim Collins on vibes.
The band keeps them busy, he says, but they are always alert to other forms of musical labor. Blostein, for instance, works as an audio engineer as wall as a saxophonist and Sperrazza does a good deal of private teaching as well as participating in jazz education camps.

The trip to this area is part of a visit home for Blostein and is also connected to a gig at a Clarion County jazz festival Sunday. The band has played at clubs such as the Rhythm House in Bridgeville, so its members aren't new to Western Pennsylvania.
"We'll probably just stay with my folks," Blostein says. "The guys like the area and we're pretty comfortable here."
Bob Karlovits can be reached at bkarlovits@tribweb.com or (412) 320 7852.
- PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE REVIEW


"NYC BAND VISITS JAZZ CENTRAL"

The musicians in The Blostein-Sperrazza Quartet promise an eclectic set at 8 p.m. Friday at Jazz Central, 441 E. Washington St., Syracuse.
After all, band leaders Matt Blostein on sax and Vinnie Sperrazza on drums count rock, R&B, classical and folk among their musical loves.
But Blostein and Sperrazza met while attending the Banff Summer Jazz Workshop in 2002 in the Canadian Rockies. When they returned to New York City, the new friends found the musical chemistry remained.
So jazz it is. Peter Brendler on bass and Danny Fox on piano complete the lineup.
The buzz on TBSQ is growing. This tour includes stops in Toronto, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and at the Cape Cod Jazz Festival.
Tickets are $10.
Call 479-5299 to make reservations.
- THE SYRACUSE POST STANDARD


Discography

Blostein-Sperrazza Group - (full length album)

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Bio

Matt Blostein and Vinnie Sperrazza met in 2002 at the Banff International Jazz Workshop, in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Roughly a year later they met up again in New York City and decided to organized an ensemble. Their group gathered a following through recordings and shows, but Matt and Vinnie quickly realized that to set themselves apart from the flock of groups nightly flooding the stages of NYC’s jazz clubs, they had to find their own approach.

That approach included a ‘diversifying’ effort as Matt and Vinnie describe it, in which they began assembling radically different ensembles for various one-off performances. As Vinnie put it, “Those shows and recordings were research and development, and we learned so much from them. They changed the way I thought about leading an ensemble, and they had a profound effect on how I composed.”

By early 2006, Matt and Vinnie had begun to settle on a musical concept, sound, and personnel for the ambitious album they were envisioning. The aim was to encapsulate all of the various musical experiences and interests they shared: the improvisational techniques and sound of jazz, plus the energy and power of rock music, with one eye always watching for a moment of pure free improvisation. To get all of these into one album was a tall order.

But after a long day of recording at Systems Two Studios in Brooklyn, Matt and Vinnie knew when they heard the rough mixes. It was all there, somehow. They had pulled it off.

MATT BLOSTEIN has been performing music since the age of four. He joined his father’s band at the ripe age of eight, playing keyboards and working several gigs a week. The saxophone became his focus when he began lessons in elementary school. Jazz gigs around Pittsburgh continued to nurture his creative pursuits, and in 1998, Matt moved to New York after being awarded a 90% scholarship to attend Manhattan School of Music.

He attended the 2001 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program, performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In the same year Matt was selected for the Ravinia Steans Institute for Young Artists, where he worked with James Moody and Danilo Perez. In 2002 he was invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland as a competitor in the White Foundation Saxophone Competition. The same year he attended the Banff Centre Jazz Program led by Dave Douglas. In 2003 Matt participated in the Aspen Snowmass Jazz Academy led by Christian McBride. In 2004 Matt toured with the Maynard Ferguson Big Bop Noveau and in 2005 he toured and recorded with the Tim Collins Group featuring Ingrid Jensen. This group is releasing an album in February 2007 entitled “Valcour” on Arabesque Records.

Matt has worked with internationally known artists including Dave Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Dick Oatts, Mark Turner, Kenny Werner, and New York musicians such as Jacob Sacks, Aaron Parks, Kim Thompson and Oriente Lopez. In addition to throughout the US and Canada, Matt has performed in Thailand, Switzerland and throughout the Caribbean.

Born and raised in a small town near Utica, New York, drummer VINNIE SPERRAZZA began studying drums with his father at the age of 8. After gaining valuable professional experience in the small jazz clubs of Utica, he went on to earn a BA in Jazz Studies from William Paterson University. While at William Paterson, he met world-renowned pianist James Williams, and in 2000 they embarked on a tour of Japan. These were the first performances of a relationship that lasted until Mr. Williams’ passing in 2004. Under the auspices of Mr. Williams, Vinnie participated in many memorable concerts and club appearances, and had the privilege of working with Clark Terry, Bill Mobley, Steve Wilson, Richard Davis, and Mulgrew Miller.

A resident of Brooklyn, Vinnie has recently been involved in a variety of creative projects including work with contemporary vocalist Yoon Sun Choi, singer-songwriter Benjamin Scheuer, a trio with pianist Jacob Sacks and Dave Ambrosio, and a marimba/woodwind duo with saxophonist/clarinetist Matt Renzi.