On Friday, May 18th, we will perform our last concert with the Mads Tolling & Jeremy Kittel. Word has it that we are almost sold out, so if you are planning to come, please get your tickets NOW!
The concert is at the historic St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
20 University Ave, Los Gatos, CA http://stlukeslg.org/
For additional details call 408-354-4560.
Turtle Island Quartet Revitalizes Group With Two New Members
[For immediate release: April 17, 2012] After years of great performances and Grammy®award-winning music, Mads Tolling and Jeremy Kittel will be leaving Turtle Island Quartet. Both having spent several fruitful years in TIQ, are ready and wanting to move on to pursue their solo careers. David Balakrishnan and Mark Summer wish them the best and are excited to introduce their two new members into the group.
“No doubt about it, it’s a big challenge to go through membership change in Turtle Island,” said TIQ founder David Balakrishnan. “The premise of the group requires string players with professional level ability in both jazz and classical music traditions. The quartet is powerful enough to encapsulate these periodic changes, grow and evolve.”
Time and again, Turtle Island has discovered new and exciting talent and they began to see an unexpected benefit to this change, new players would invariably “bring with them a heady breath of fresh cross genre air,” that in hindsight has proven absolutely vital to keeping the quartet vibrant and alive, again due to the manifold implications contained in the defining premise of the group–four string musicians all equally adept in both classical and jazz.
In this exciting new light, Turtle Island Quartet announces the addition of Polish violinist Mateusz Smoczynski and German violist Benjamin von Gutzeit who will both be joining the group full time in the Fall of 2012. The change in personnel will allow for cross-fertilization of new ideas, sounds and emotion. The group continues to reach new heights and with the new members plan to achieve even more.
Future projects include Poets & Prayers with jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton and Louisiana Story with renowned Cajun fiddler Michael Doucet.
Mateusz Smoczynski (violin) is a graduate of the Frederic Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland. A student of Andrzej Gebski, he made his jazz debut in 1999 in Jazz Camping Kalatowki with the Jacek Namyslowski Quintet. Mateusz has collaborated with such renowned Polish musicians as Urszula Dudziak, Tomasz Stanko, Krzesimir Debski, Zbigniew Namyslowski and Jaroslaw Smietana. Together with Joachim Kuhn, Janusz Stefanski and Bronislaw Suchanek, he took part in the premiere of legendary jazz violinist Zbigniew Seifert’s Jazz Concerto for Violin, Symphony Orchestra and Rhythm section. Mateusz leads his own quintet with which he recorded his first CD “Inspirations”, dedicated to his two biggest music influences, John Coltrane and Zbigniew Seifert. After the success of his first album in 2007, Mateusz received the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Scholarship, and in June 2008 was awarded “Jazz Oscar” in the category “Music Lovers’ Hope of 2007″. In 2008, his second recording “Expressions” was released to popular acclaim. In 2009, Mateusz formed a band with his brother Jan on Hammond organ and the Russian drum star Alexander Zinger called “New Trio”. In 2010 they released their first CD “Simultaneous Abstractions” which was nominated for “Best Recording Debut of the Year” for a Fryderyki award (“the Polish Grammy”). That same year Mateusz co-founded the Atom String Quartet, the very first Polish jazz string quartet. They have recorded two CDs, “Fade In” and “Places”, and received first prize for the “Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa” Competition, the most important jazz competition in Poland. The Atom Quartet was also nominated in 2012 for a Fryderyki award. In 2011, Mateusz had the opportunity to play with pianist Richie Beirach, trumpeter Ack van Rooyen, bassist Glen Moore, and drummer Janusz Stefanski, performing at the “Zbigniew Seifert in Memoriam-Berlin” Festival.
Benjamin von Gutzeit (viola) was born into a musical family. His father is the director of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and one of his sisters recently became the principal cellist of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. Benjamin began playing the viola at the age of 4, beginning first on a very small violin that was outfitted with viola strings. Taught by his father until he turned 12, he then studied with Emile Cantor, the viola player of the Orpheus String Quartet. In 1992 and 1994 he won first prize in the final of the German youth Competition Jugend Musiziert; the 1994 win led to a concert tour in Japan performing in a string quartet at the age of 12. When he turned 15, he developed an interest in popular music as well and started to play the electric bass in jazz bands. In 1997, he studied for one year as a student at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz. In 2001 he began his jazz studies with Jazz violinist Andi Schreiber from Vienna, later moving to the Netherlands in 2004 to study jazz at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Dutch saxophone icon Ferdinand Povel and guitarist Jesse van Ruller. While living in Holland, he took an active part in the Dutch jazz and improvised music scene and performed on numerous festivals such as the famed North Sea Jazz Festival. In 2010 he was awarded a full scholarship to attend the Manhattan School of Music, where he has pursued his Masters degree with a graduation date of May 2012. He has worked with teachers Phil Markowitz, Garry Dial and John Riley. Benjamin has performed and recorded with many great musicians including jazz violinist Mark Feldman, electronic music virtuoso Matthew Herbert, cellist Ernst Reijseger, composer and bandleader Martin Fondse and jazz saxophonist Dave Liebman.
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Turtle Island Quartet plays John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ at Calvin College on Saturday
Published: Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk
GRAND RAPIDS – John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” is one of the seminal recordings in jazz history.
The Grammy Award-winning Turtle Island Quartet is an ensemble unlike any other.
Calvin College welcomes Turtle Island Quartet on Saturday to play a program devoted to the music of the contemporary giant of jazz for the Calvin Artist Series.
To say that the Turtle Island Quartet doesn’t take the traditional approach to music is to put it lightly: its cellist once performed at an 11,000-feet elevation on a cello made of ice. The Grammy-winning quartet boldly crosses between bluegrass, rock, bebop, funk, R&B, and swing, paying homage to everyone from Beethoven to Hendrix and Coltrane.
Join us, as we talk with two of its founding members, and Mark Summer gives a special cello performance of “Little Wing.” The Turtle Island Quartet performs Friday, March 2, at 7 p.m. at the Historic Fifth Street School.
GUESTS
David Balakrishnan, violinist, Turtle Island Quartet
Mark Summer, cellist, Turtle Island Quartet
TYLER, TX (KETK) – — On Sunday night, the Liberty Hall Theater in Tyler welcomed Grammy winning artists Turtle Island Orchestra as they performed some Jimi Hendrix’s famous tunes.
The groups is a jazz, free style orchestra that had been performaing for 27 years.
They have traveled all over the world, and wond the awards in the 2006 and 2008 Grammys.
They hope that their style of music will inspire younger artists to step out of the box, and try something new with their music.
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”
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.
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.
Turtle Island Quartet at Strathmore Music in the Mansion
By Jane Coyne – November 21, 2011
When people ask me what kind of music I like, I borrow an answer from Duke Ellington. “Good.” Last night, Strathmore Music in the Mansion presented the Grammy Award-winning Turtle Island Quartet in two performances of “Have You Ever Been ….?” the music of Jimi Hendrix and David Balakrishnan. It was an experience, and it was a very, very “good” one at that.
Turtle Island String Quartet. Photo by Jay Blakesberg.
The Turtle Island Quartet won their Grammy Awards in a category called ‘Best Crossover Album,’ but I’m not sure I would define their music as crossing over. It’s more like a dive into an experience of infused inspiration, heavy on the infusion, and a spiritual and musical journey like no other.
The Turtle Island Quartet is a chamber string ensemble whose members all have extensive conservatory training at such renowned institutions as the Cleveland Institute, UCLA, the Berklee School of Music, the University of Michigan, and the Manhattan School of Music. They know their stuff, and their stuff has set them free. All four members are masters at improvisation, composition and arranging, and their cutting edge musicianship attracts collaborations and followers as eclectic as they are, including Yo-Yo Ma, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, Paquito D’Rivera, The Manhattan Transfer, the late Billy Taylor, Neeme Järvi and the Detroit Symphony, Ramsey Louis, Sharon Isbin, and many others. Their fan base, like their music, is the world.
Experiencing music in a small venue such as Strathmore’s Mansion is somewhat like spending an evening in an intimate jazz club. I loved walking through the doors of the mansion, admiring the artwork, sipping a complimentary glass of wine, and joining the eclectic group of people there. From young couples in their teens and early twenties, to two elderly ladies well into their eighties, and everybody in between, all were clearly and thoroughly enjoying a very special evening. Besides hearing great music, everybody had a chance to chat with the artists who comprise the Turtle Island Quartet, and they are as nice as they are talented.
The group is the brainchild of founder David Balakrishnan, a violinist who grew up in Los Angeles with an Indian father, an American mother, a violin, and the influence of Jimi Hendrix, bebop, jazz, and more. He was raised in an eclectic environment, and it seems the success he has achieved through his musical endeavors only sparks his boundless curiosity and desire to explore even more in his music. He is brilliant.
Jeremy Kittel (viola), the youngest member of the group, has an endearing smile and engaging personality that reminds me of Ron Howard when he was still Opie. This only serves to endear him even more to his audience as he lets go with inspired and seemingly effortless improvisations that leave all in awe and wishing that he would just keep playing all night. He is simply a joy, and a musician bursting with talent of huge proportion that is clearly and visibly appreciated by his fellow musicians as much as it is by his audience.
Mads Tolling (violin), is perfect in the important role of holding together what Balakrishnan describes as a “bi-polar” group of musicians. A very talented musician and arranger, he has a beautiful sense of harmony, and he knows how to support what is happening without getting in the way of what is happening. He’s a connector, yet when he takes his turn in the spotlight, his ability and right to be there is without question.
Mark Summer (cello), a founding member of Turtle Island, is an experience in and of himself. He holds and plays a single cello, but appears to be filling in for a missing bassist, guitarist, percussion ensemble, and entire classical string section who perhaps missed their plane and are not available to play. Simply amazing, he exudes personality, musical versatility, talent, and a personal joy in playing.
I would like to highlight songs I particularly enjoyed, but to be honest, I have decided I cannot choose. I highly recommend this group. Their CDs are wonderful and available for purchase via the Turtle Island website. They’ll be back in town on March 2nd, performing at the George Mason University Center for the Arts. Don’t miss them.
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