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.
