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Press Releases
Turtle Island Quartet’s Expansive New Disc, Confetti Man, Produced by the Azica Label [ACD-71296] Arrives on October 28
On its newest recording, Confetti Man, the Turtle Island Quartet grapples with what founding member and violinist David Balakrishnan calls the “cracks in this multi-tiered, cross-genre pavement.” A mix of original compositions and arrangements illuminates the “astonishing versatility” (The Washington Post) and “zest, imagination and brilliant technique” (San Francisco Examiner) that have become synonymous with TIQ. On this recording Balakrishnan and TIQ cello guru Mark Summer welcome two new members to the group—Polish violinist Mateusz Smoczynki and German violist Benjamin von Gutzeit, who both bring their own distinct flavors to the TIQ sound.
Inspired by a painting by Balakrishnan’s wife, Confetti Man addresses questions of identity, history and culture, and meditates on the bewildering flow of the creative process, swinging between pensive passages and ecstatic grooves, moving from puzzled frustration to revelatory flow. The title track, written by Balakrishnan, embodies this spirit blending rock-n-roll gusto with suspended meditations. His other composition, “Alex in A Major,” harkens back to the group’s sassy string band roots inflected with signature TIQ artfulness. As for Summer, he returns with joyous audacity on “Pattern Language,” another scintillating concert etude that will surely become a favorite of any cellist harboring rock-n-roll aspirations.
Two pieces on the album were written specifically for TIQ: Bob Mintzer’s Windspan, which revels in twangy syncopation and conversational interplay; and Paquito D’Rivera’s majestic opus La Jicotea, in which Latin American rhythms are transformed into cubist soundscapes.
A trio of arrangements of jazz charts—Wayne Shorter’s “Infant Eyes,” John Carisi’s “Israel” and Bud Powell’s “Bouncin’ with Bud”—shrink the space between jazz and European classical music to almost nothing, revealing the intrinsically virtuosic and transcendent nature of both. Finally, placed smack in the middle of the track list, Nellie McKay’s sweet, old-timey voice on Burt Bacharach’s “Send Me No Flowers” offers a shock of sunshine imbued with a certain amount of irony.
About Turtle Island Quartet
Its name derived from creation mythology found in Native American Folklore, the Turtle Island Quartet, since its inception in 1985, has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. Winner of the 2006 and 2008 GRAMMY® Awards for Best Classical Crossover category, Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles, and by devising a performance practice that honors both, the state of the art has inevitably been redefined. Cellist nonpareil Yo-Yo Ma has proclaimed TIQ to be “a unified voice that truly breaks new ground – authentic and passionate – a reflection of some of the most creative music-making today.”
The Quartet’s birth was the result of violinist David Balakrishnan’s brainstorming explorations and compositional vision while writing his master’s thesis at Antioch University West. The journey has taken Turtle Island through forays into folk, bluegrass, swing, be-bop, funk, R&B, new age, rock, hip-hop, as well as music of Latin America and India …a repertoire consisting of hundreds of ingenious arrangements and originals. It has included over a dozen recordings on labels such as Windham Hill, Chandos, Koch and Telarc, soundtracks for major motion pictures, TV and radio credits such as the Today Show, All Things Considered, Prairie Home Companion, and Morning Edition, feature articles in People and Newsweek magazines, and collaborations with famed artists such as clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, guitar legends Leo Kottke and the Assad brothers, The Manhattan Transfer, pianists Billy Taylor, Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut and Ramsey Lewis, singers Tierney Sutton and Nellie McKay, the Ying Quartet and the Parsons and Luna Negra Dance Companies.
Another unique element of Turtle Island is their revival of venerable improvisational and compositional chamber traditions that have not been explored by string players for nearly 200 years. At the time of Haydn’s apocryphal creation of the string quartet form, musicians were more akin to today’s saxophonists and keyboard masters of the jazz and pop world, i.e., improvisers, composers, and arrangers. Each Turtle Island member is accomplished in these areas of expertise as well as having extensive conservatory training. Original members Balakrishnan and Mark Summer—arguably the finest cross genre cellist of the modern age—are joined by the elite of the young alternative string players from Europe, Polish jazz violin phenom Mateusz Smoczynski, and violist Benjamin Von Gutzeit, of German descent, who recently completed a masters program in jazz studies at Manhattan School of Music.
As Turtle Island members continue to refine their skills through the development of repertory by some of today’s cutting edge composers, through performances and recordings with major symphonic ensembles, and through a determined educational commitment, the Turtle Island Quartet stakes its claim as the quintessential ‘New World’ string quartet of the 21st century.
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Inspired by a painting by Balakrishnan’s wife, Confetti Man addresses questions of identity, history and culture, and meditates on the bewildering flow of the creative process, swinging between pensive passages and ecstatic grooves, moving from puzzled frustration to revelatory flow. The title track, written by Balakrishnan, embodies this spirit blending rock-n-roll gusto with suspended meditations. His other composition, “Alex in A Major,” harkens back to the group’s sassy string band roots inflected with signature TIQ artfulness. As for Summer, he returns with joyous audacity on “Pattern Language,” another scintillating concert etude that will surely become a favorite of any cellist harboring rock-n-roll aspirations.
Two pieces on the album were written specifically for TIQ: Bob Mintzer’s Windspan, which revels in twangy syncopation and conversational interplay; and Paquito D’Rivera’s majestic opus La Jicotea, in which Latin American rhythms are transformed into cubist soundscapes.
A trio of arrangements of jazz charts—Wayne Shorter’s “Infant Eyes,” John Carisi’s “Israel” and Bud Powell’s “Bouncin’ with Bud”—shrink the space between jazz and European classical music to almost nothing, revealing the intrinsically virtuosic and transcendent nature of both. Finally, placed smack in the middle of the track list, Nellie McKay’s sweet, old-timey voice on Burt Bacharach’s “Send Me No Flowers” offers a shock of sunshine imbued with a certain amount of irony.
About Turtle Island Quartet
Its name derived from creation mythology found in Native American Folklore, the Turtle Island Quartet, since its inception in 1985, has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. Winner of the 2006 and 2008 GRAMMY® Awards for Best Classical Crossover category, Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles, and by devising a performance practice that honors both, the state of the art has inevitably been redefined. Cellist nonpareil Yo-Yo Ma has proclaimed TIQ to be “a unified voice that truly breaks new ground – authentic and passionate – a reflection of some of the most creative music-making today.”
The Quartet’s birth was the result of violinist David Balakrishnan’s brainstorming explorations and compositional vision while writing his master’s thesis at Antioch University West. The journey has taken Turtle Island through forays into folk, bluegrass, swing, be-bop, funk, R&B, new age, rock, hip-hop, as well as music of Latin America and India …a repertoire consisting of hundreds of ingenious arrangements and originals. It has included over a dozen recordings on labels such as Windham Hill, Chandos, Koch and Telarc, soundtracks for major motion pictures, TV and radio credits such as the Today Show, All Things Considered, Prairie Home Companion, and Morning Edition, feature articles in People and Newsweek magazines, and collaborations with famed artists such as clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, guitar legends Leo Kottke and the Assad brothers, The Manhattan Transfer, pianists Billy Taylor, Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut and Ramsey Lewis, singers Tierney Sutton and Nellie McKay, the Ying Quartet and the Parsons and Luna Negra Dance Companies.
Another unique element of Turtle Island is their revival of venerable improvisational and compositional chamber traditions that have not been explored by string players for nearly 200 years. At the time of Haydn’s apocryphal creation of the string quartet form, musicians were more akin to today’s saxophonists and keyboard masters of the jazz and pop world, i.e., improvisers, composers, and arrangers. Each Turtle Island member is accomplished in these areas of expertise as well as having extensive conservatory training. Original members Balakrishnan and Mark Summer—arguably the finest cross genre cellist of the modern age—are joined by the elite of the young alternative string players from Europe, Polish jazz violin phenom Mateusz Smoczynski, and violist Benjamin Von Gutzeit, of German descent, who recently completed a masters program in jazz studies at Manhattan School of Music.
As Turtle Island members continue to refine their skills through the development of repertory by some of today’s cutting edge composers, through performances and recordings with major symphonic ensembles, and through a determined educational commitment, the Turtle Island Quartet stakes its claim as the quintessential ‘New World’ string quartet of the 21st century.
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