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Saxophonist and composer Eric Crystal has been a stalwart of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene for nearly two decades.
An immensely innovative, versatile and melodic improviser, Crystal was recently named one of the top 10 Rising Star Soprano
Saxophone players in the renowned Downbeat Annual Critics Poll.
Highly in demand as both a live and studio musician, Crystal has been featured on over 20 recordings and at festivals and
clubs throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. Most recently, the saxophonist has toured and recorded with Boz Scaggs and is featured on the legendary singer's latest collection of jazz standards. The album But Beautiful - Standards
Volume 1 debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts.
As a leader, Crystal has also created his own critically-acclaimed projects. After co-founding the improvising collective
FRAME, whose CD came out in 1996, he released his first solo album,
Dark Matter, on Red Giant Records in 1998. He has also worked with award-winning vocalist Kitty Margolis, Latin Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist Omar Sosa, drummer/composer Scott Amendola, and master drummer E.W. Wainwright. For over 10 years, Crystal was a musician and musical director for the Obie and Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe. He attended Berklee College of Music.
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Press Clips
One of the most compelling experiences in jazz is witnessing the performance of an excellent musician who's reached a major
turning point in his career and knows it. Jazz saxophonist Eric Crystal, a versatile artist whose playing reveals a deep reserve
of spiritual and innovative fire, as well as influences from Coltrane to Coleman to Lovano, is at that moment now.
During Crystal's 13 years in the Bay Area, a tenure that began in 1990 when, at 18, he plugged into the exploding acid-jazz
scene, the versatile saxman has earned a reputation for powerful, imaginative soloing and an ability to take his music "outside"
without losing coherence, perspective, or humor. Crystal's 1998 CD of originals, Dark Matter, presented a set of intricately
textured compositions and a strong improvisational vision. His ability to meld his strengths to the purposes of any band he
performs with has made him an admired sideman, as well. Now, at 31, Crystal has just made his move to that ultimate jazz cauldron,
New York City.
- Excerpt from S.F. Weekly, Dec 10, 2003
Press for DARK MATTER
Dark Matter speak[s] with a novel voice...impressive are [Crystal’s]
eclectic and open-ended writing and his simultaneous command of improvised ideas and instrumental tone.
The up-tempo and longest pieces...convey a Trane-like sense of spiritual investigation; two pretty ballads...could
accurately be called meditations; and one larger ensemble piece, ...incorporates the timbres of trombone and flute into a
velvet arrangement.
Crystal...has absorbed enough history to root himself but has set his sights on making timeless musical statements
of his own.
- S.F. Bay Guardian
...on the cutting edge...can easily transport one to some far-off exotic place, the surging and ebbing of
its sonic wash, at times, being nearly trance enducing...the beauty, while capturing your heart, leaves you speechless.
-L.A. Jazz Scene
...while his probing sound and style owe much to the spiritual and experimental influence of John Coltrane,
[Crystal] works impressively toward establishing his own voice. His command of tone and his creative melodic lines and harmonic
shifts indicate a mature and fertile imagination.
-East Bay Express
There is definitely intelligence on display in the universe of [Dark Matter]...good interaction between the
players and the mood oscillates between contemplative and intense, with soaring sax lines.
It’s simply an artist stating for whomever will listen: I am different. I am I, and this is my music.
-Green Mountain Jazz Messenger
...heavy stuff...tight writing...Crystal is an enticingly assaultive player...Dark Matter is definitely
a few steps above the average jazz release.
-Jazz Now
...hardcore blowing...No weak cuts to be found...an album Coltrane freaks will most definitely want to grab.
-Cadence
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