Mark Summer plays on Today Show Wed, Feb 1st 8:45 AM (all time zones)
Jan 31, 2012 Uncategorized
First Mark’s piece “Julie-O” gets used twice on NBC’s Parenthood and now, Mark teams up with beatbox cellist, Kevin Olusola for a duo performance of the same piece. Kevin brought this piece into new light last year. Last but certainly NOT least is Mark’s own performance of his beloved classic “Julie-O”
Touching review from Classical Voice North Carolina
Jan 31, 2012 Uncategorized
EXCERPT FROM CONCERT REVIEW
Turtle Island Quartet: A Tribute to John Coltrane
NC State University and Raleigh Chamber Music Guild
By Karen E. Moorman
January 28, 2012 – Raleigh, NC:
The first half of the concert was a colorful set that ranged from Latin Jazz master Paquito D’Rivera’s “Wapango” to TIQ’s versions of Coltrane’s arrangement of Rogers’ “My Favorite Things” and Jimi Hendrix’s version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” The works on the second half are recorded on their CD A Love Supreme. Together, we heard the musical context in which Coltrane’s suite of that name can be situated. And all the works performed bore the stamp of this marvelous quartet.
for the full review, please go to Classical Voice North Carolina CVNC’s site.
Touring the West Coast this weekend
Jan 20, 2012 Uncategorized
Turtle Island Quartet to perform in Ojai
To ‘Electric Ladyland
January 19, 2012 at 3:14 p.m.
The Turtle Island Quartet will salute Jimi Hendrix in Ojai, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
Two violins, a cello and a viola will take audiences to Jimi Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland” on Saturday night in Ojai.
The Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, which energizes the traditional chamber repertoire by exploring jazz, funk, folk, rock, hip-hop and world music, will play a tribute to Hendrix as part of the Fresh Roasted Concerts series in Ojai.
Taking its name from Native American mythology, the group has won two Grammy Awards for classical crossover album: “4+Four” (shared with the Ying Quartet) in 2005 and “A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane” in 2007.
According to The New York Times, in 1969, TIQ violinist and founder David Balakrishnan, then a teenager, went to a Jimi Hendrix concert “that led him to reconsider his approach to his instrument, and to music more broadly.”
Balakrishnan, along with violinist Mads Tolling, cellist Mark Summer and violist Jeremy Kittel, will play four pieces from Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland” album, a solo cello version of “Little Wing” and “Hey Joe.” The program also includes Balakrishnan’s “Tree of Life,” a tribute to Charles Darwin.
Chamber music has indeed evolved.
The Turtle Island Quartet will play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Matilija Auditorium, 703 El Paseo Road, Ojai. Tickets are $30 for general admission, $28 for seniors. Call 646-8907 or visit ptgo.org. The group also will perform at 7:30 tonight at Theatre Raymond Kabbaz in Los Angeles ($35; 310-286-0553 or www.theatreraymondkabbaz.com) and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art ($19; 963-4364 or sbma.net). TIQ’s website is turtleislandquartet.com.
