By Andrew Gilbert

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.

By Andrew Gilbert

The Bay Area is no stranger to audacious endeavors that fly in the face of common sense. But even in a region where an idea can take flight and transform an entire segment of the economy, trombonist, bassist, arranger, composer, and Jazz Mafia collective founder Adam Theis had little reason to hope that an ambitious jazz/classical/hip-hop mashup would have wings.