More Info on Turtle Island String QuartetSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Refimprove|date=December 2010The Turtle Island Quartet (known as the "Turtle Island String Quartet" before the 2007 release of A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane ) is a San Francisco Bay Area based jazz string quartet formed in 1985 and still actively touring worldwide and recording As of|2011|lc=on. They were the first string quartet to achieve artistic and commercial success integrating jazz improvisation , jazz rhythms and comping using extended techniques. Their extensive repertoire consists primarily of compositions and arrangements by quartet members that highlight their versatility by bridging several styles including bluegrass music|Bluegrass , European classical music , funk , jazz , Latin American Music|Latin American music , and Indian classical music . They became known for their renditions of jazz standards, such as founding violinist David Balakrishnan 's Grammy-nominated arrangement of "A Night In Tunisia" by Dizzy Gillespie , "Stolen Moments" by Oliver Nelson, or "Blue Rondo a la Turk" by Dave Brubeck on Art of the Groove , as well as for jazz interpretations of famous european classical music|classical music pieces, as shown on the humorously titled "Bach's Lunch" on The Hamburg Concert. The quartet has also covered rock and roll pieces, such as Jimi Hendrix 's "Gypsy Eyes" on Who Do We Think We Are? and Eric Clapton 's - originally Robert Johnson's - "Crossroads" on Skylife .
In addition to playing as a quartet, they have collaborated with renowned jazz artists such as clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera and pianist Kenny Barron , the classical string quartet Ying Quartet , and several major orchestras.
Their name was taken by co-founder Darol Anger from North American Indians|Native American mythology , where Turtle Island (North America)|"Turtle Island" is the name for the North America n continent, courtesy of poet Gary Snyder|Gary Snyder's influential book of the same name.
Quartet members
As of|2011:
David Balakrishnan & ndash; violin and baritone violin (original member)
Mads Tolling & ndash; violin
Jeremy Kittel & ndash; viola
Mark Summer & ndash; cello (original member)
Former members:
Darol Anger & ndash; violin and baritone violin (original member)
Laurie Moore & ndash; viola (original member)
Irene Sazer & ndash; viola
Danny Seidenberg & ndash; viola
Tracy Silverman & ndash; violin
Katrina Wreede & ndash; viola
Evan Price & ndash; violin
Awards and recognition
Grammy Award s and Grammy nominations
* Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album for 4 + Four (2006)
*Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album for A Love Supreme: The Legacy Of John Coltrane (2008) http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/50th_show/list.aspx Grammy.com
Discography
Turtle Island String Quartet & ndash; 1988 Windham Hill
A Night in Tunisia, A Week in Detroit & ndash; 2002 Chandos
4 + Four & ndash; 2005 Telarc, with the Ying Quartet
A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane & ndash; 2007 Telarc
Have You Ever Been..? : The Music Of Jimi Hendrix and David Balakrishnan & ndash; 2010 Concord
References
Reflist
External links
http://turtleislandquartet.com/ Turtle Island Quartet homepage
cite web
|url= http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=4647605 |publisher=National Public Radio |title=Turtle Island Quartet: Bending Musical Lines |date=2005-05-11 |accessdate=2006-05-08
cite web
|url= http://www.newmusicbox.org/page.nmbx? id=01tp24 |publisher=American Music Center |title=Speak For Yourself& #33; A Hyper-History of American Composer-Led New Music Ensembles |date=1999-05-01 |accessdate=2006-05-08
http://media.www.fairfieldmirror.com/media/storage/paper148/news/2007/10/18/Entertainment/Music.Mavericks.Turtle.Island.Quartet.Revolutionize.Jazz-3036224.shtml/ Music Mavericks Turtle Island Quartet Revolutionize Jazz
http://www.jazz.com/features-and-interviews/2008/4/22/in-conversation-with-david-balakrishnan "In Conversation with David Balakrishnan of the Turtle Island String Quartet" by Eugene Marlow, ( http://www.jazz.com Jazz.com).
DEFAULTSORT:Turtle Island Quartet Category:Third Stream musicians Category:Musical groups established in 1985 Category:American jazz ensembles Category:American string quartets Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Windham Hill Records artists
