OUT OF THEIR SHELL Turtle Island String Quartet takes the art of improvisation to new heights with Coltrane concert Friday, March 12, 2010 By Chris Waddington Contributing writer Can you snap your fingers and sway to a string quartet? Jazz purists and classical snobs used to laugh at the notion. Then, in 1985, the Turtle Island String Quartet began to do the unlikely, creating swinging, improvised music that incorporated delta blues, Indian ragas, Celtic fiddle techniques, be-bop harmonies ... Read More

Concert review: Turtle Island Quartet takes crossover jazz to new level Published: Thursday, March 4, 2010 11:40 p.m. MST TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET, de Jong Concert Hall, Brigham Young University, March 4 Jazz performed by a string quartet? At first glance the two would seem mutually exclusive — until Turtle Island Quartet showed the world how it could be done. Turtle Island Quartet, which played at BYU Thursday, has taken the concept of crossover to a new level — infusing jazz playing with ... Read More

By Bret Saunders Posted: 02/21/2010 01:00:00 AM MST DENVER POST February 21, 2010 The Turtle Island String Quartet with their trophy during the Grammy Awards in 2006. The Turtle Island Quartet celebrates 25 years as a group in 2010, but it's only in the past few years that they've received the accolades owed to them since the '80s. What sets them apart from other classically oriented string bands is the remarkable lightness in their sense of swing and a playfulness that lends itself to jazz ... Read More

JAZZ TIMES.COM by Aubrey Everett 02/12/10 Turtle Island Quartet to Record Hendrix Tribute The string group picked Hendrix tracks to celebrate its 25th anniversary By Aubrey Everett The musically diverse and award winning Turtle Island Quartet have chosen a unique way to celebrate its 25th anniversary this month by recording a Jimi Hendrix-inspired album titled Have You Ever Been… (Telarc). The group, joined by Stefon Harris and Mike Marshall, will step into the Skywalker Sound studio in ... Read More

IN THE STUDIO: TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY WITH JIMI HENDRIX-INSPIRED RECORDING Award-Winning Quartet Joined By Special Guests Stefon Harris, Mike Marshall Through their exploration of folk, bluegrass, swing, be-bop, funk, R&B, new age, rock, and hip-hop, Turtle Island Quartet has taken its audiences on a journey through many musical genres, eras, and places – the American landscape, Latin America, Europe, and India to name a few. Now the Grammy®-winning ... Read More

The Full Performance is now available on the WHYY website! Check it out at http://video.whyy.org/video/1162947977 Here is the WHYY blurb about the episode: Program: On Canvas -Episode: Turtle Island Quartet With a name derived from creation mythology found in Native American folklore, Turtle Island Quartet has been creating chic and daring trends in chamber music for string instruments since 1985. Winner of the 2006 and 2008 Grammy Awards for Best Classical Crossover Album, Turtle Island ... Read More

Turtle Island Quartet receives a Grammy Award for A Love Supreme - The Legacy of John Coltrane. Turtle Island Quartet is thrilled to receive a Grammy award for Best Classical Crossover Album for our latest Telarc recording, A Love Supreme-The Legacy of John Coltrane. The quartet’s previous release, 4 + Four with the Ying Quartet, was awarded the Grammy in 2006. ... Read More