2013-10-28
Previously nominated for Grammys for its last three albums and winner of the 2004 International Tango competition, Quartet San Francisco excels in multiple musical styles. This string quartet has become adept at crossing classical music with all sorts of other styles, from tango to funk to blues to bluegrass. Now the quartet mixes it up with jazz on latest release,Pacific Premieres. Pacific Premieres features jazz written for string quartet. The songs range from quiet and pretty ("Carmel"and"Contemplation") to swing ("Venice"..I call it string-swing!), to upbeat orchestral grooves ("Oakland" "Maurice White"). This ensemble really has it together when it comes to combining jazz and classical techniques. The last track, "Guamba" blew me away with the string players' percussive use of their instruments. All in all, this is nice stuff. Rebecca Ruth
ALON NECHUSHTAN
Words Beyond
Various Artists
Upstairs at Larry's: Lawrence Welk Uncorked
Pete Kennedy
Tone, Twang and Taste
Spencer A. Barefield
After The End
JEFF COFFIN MU'TET
Mutopia
DAFNIS PRIETO PROVERB TRIO
Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio
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