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
Joel Frahm with Brad Mehldau
Don't Explain
BEN ALLISON AND MAN SIZE SAFE
Little Things Run the World
LISA HILTON
Underground
BILL FRISELL
All We Are Saying...
THE BORN AGAIN FLOOZIES
7 Deadly Sinners
GINGER KWAN
Kwantum Leap
The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.