“The first thing to know about Cosa Nostra Strings isn’t that the group evolved out of the Jazz Mafia. The quintet does share a good deal of creative DNA with the ever-morphing Oakland collective that’s bootstrapped its stylistically omnivorous aesthetic into a booming cottage industry, collaborating with everyone from racy cabaret productions and soul belters to symphony orchestras and socially conscious hip-hop MCs.
Whatever its mob ties, Cosa Nostra belongs to a larger, more powerful subterranean family of musical renegades. The group, which released a self-titled album featuring original compositions on the artist-run San Francisco label Slow & Steady last month, builds directly on the region’s rich history of string innovators.”
