Turtle Island Quartet

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Turtles head to Sacramento

March 28, 2011

Jay Blakesberg -The Turtle Island Quartet brings its interpretations of Jimi Hendrix tunes to Sacramento State on Wednesday. Roundup: Turtle Island Quartet at CSUS jcarnes@sacbee.com Friday, Mar. 25, 2011 The Turtle Island Quartet takes a different approach to the music of Hendrix – the four-piece string quartet approach – when it performs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Sac State. The classical-jazz fusion trendsetters have a special affinity for Hendrix. The quartet's latest release, "Have You ... Read More

Filed Under: News

Classical gets experienced? Hooked on Hendrix?

March 25, 2011

String quartet tip bows to Hendrix By Mike Bell, Calgary Herald March 25, 2011 4:02 AM Preview Turtle Island Quartet performs Saturday at the Banff Centre. Classical gets experienced? Hooked on Hendrix? Both descriptions seem apt but really only scratch the surface when it comes to the current work of Grammy-winning string ensemble, Turtle Island Quartet, who bring their reinterpretations of the songs of Jimi Hendrix to the Banff Centre Saturday. In fact, Mark Summer, cellist and co-founder ... Read More

Filed Under: News

Lafayette's The Town Talk reviews us

March 13, 2011

Toe-tapping jazz, funk and rock 'n' roll was not what a couple hundred teenagers expected to hear from a string quartet Friday. Alyssa Lee, an eighth-grade L.J. Allmean Arts Academy student, expected her class would be listening to classical music on its field trip to see the Turtle Island Quartet at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. "When I heard them I didn't know it was strings, because of all the different types of techniques and sounds," Alyssa, 13, said. The quartet was made up of a ... Read More

Filed Under: Reviews

WNYC Soundcheck with John Schaefer

March 4, 2011

... Read More

Filed Under: News

Review of our Symphony Space show aka The Hendrix Project

March 4, 2011

Music Review Unplugging the Hendrix Experience By ALLAN KOZINN Published: March 3, 2011 In 1969 David Balakrishnan, then a teenage violin student, attended a Jimi Hendrix concert in Los Angeles that led him to reconsider his approach to his instrument, and to music more broadly. He began learning some of Hendrix’s guitar solos on the violin, and he decided that his repertory should embrace both classical music and pop. As a composer he extended that philosophy to his own music. Mr. ... Read More

Filed Under: Reviews

NY – here we come!

February 25, 2011

Classical Music/Opera Listings, for Feb. 25-March 3 Published: February 24, 2011 ★ Turtle Island String Quartet (Wednesday) This quartet has made a point of exploring jazz with the same seriousness it brings to classical works. Now it has taken on the music of Jimi Hendrix, which it plays with energy and inventiveness, if not quite the feedback-embellished grit that Hendrix brought to it himself. Hendrix dominates the program, which also includes “Tree of Life” by David Balakrishnan, one of the ... Read More

Filed Under: News

Great review of our CD on The Big City blog

February 3, 2011

THE BIG CITY Songs For Strings Lovers Posted on February 2, 2011 by George Grella There’s some tendency to marvel at the novelty of certain instruments in genres outside of their origins, or common sighting; look, there’s an accordion in that jazz band! (Although I will admit that Matthew Welch is still a surprise, and his music is fine). But these instruments tend to be ones that have been used for popular music genres for a long, long time, and it’s the era of recorded, electric music that is ... Read More

Filed Under: Reviews

Turtles take on Salina, KS – Jan 15th

January 7, 2011

Turtle Island String Quartet photographed at The Fox Theater in Oakland, CA April 22, 2010(C)Jay Blakesberg Something old, something new 1/7/2011 By GARY DEMUTH Salina Journal As a young man, David Balakrishnan was a classical violinist who loved jazz, a bluegrass fiddler who grooved on swing, be-bop, rock music and the music of his father's native India. But when it came to forming his own musical identity, the Los Angeles native couldn't commit to one particular style. So he decided to ... Read More

Filed Under: News

Mix chats with David Balakrishnan about TIQ's latest CD

December 27, 2010

“Have You Ever Been…” Turtle Island Quartet Plays The Music of JIMI HENDRIX And The Music Of DAVID BALKRISHNAN Telarc Records Gary Eskow December 25th, 2010 David Balakrishan has a problem with the Turtle Island Quartet. Well, not really. The group, which he founded a quarter of a century ago, has won a pair of Grammy Awards in the last several years and their latest release “Have You Ever Been…?” is amassing critical praise. Robert Friedrich, who tracked, mixed, and mastered the project at ... Read More

Filed Under: News

A review of our 25th Anniversary Herbst Theatre SF gig

December 13, 2010

Examiner.com - San Francisco The Turtle Island Quartet has been giving concerts under the auspices of San Francisco Performances (SFP) since 1991 (back when they were known as the “Turtle Island String Quartet”); so an SFP gig at Herbst Theatre offered the most appropriate venue for their 25th Anniversary Concert. Furthermore, as Brent Assink, Executive Director of the San Francisco Symphony, said of the Symphony’s centennial season, when you have a big birthday, you want to invite all of ... Read More

Filed Under: Reviews

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Next Live Performance

May

9

2025

Logan Center Performance Hall
Chicago, IL
Celebrates the range of influences within the rich cultural spectrum of the continent known as “Turtle Island.”

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