The Turtle Island Quartet employs their signature groove-based rhythmic techniques to create brand-new arrangements of cool jazz standards that prove that the line between classical music and jazz is much thinner than one might think. In addition to classics by Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, Lenny Tristano and others, the quartet will premiere a brand-new work by founder and violinist David Balakrishnan. Called “Rebirth of the Holy Fool,” this work takes cool jazz as a starting point but borrows extensively from bluegrass, classical, jazz and Indian music – a work typical of the Turtle Island Quartet’s style, yet still utterly surprising and unexpected.
Rounding out the program are selections from the Turtle Island Quartet’s latest album, Confetti Man. Confetti Man is an affirmation of the Turtle Island Quartet’s uniquely important role in contemporary music as they continue into their 30th season. On every track, the quartet delights in exploring the ambiguous worlds between different genres, and proves definitively that combining seemingly incompatible styles of music results in something that is much more than the sum of its parts.