Quartet
San Franciso, the acclaimed cross-genre string quartet received Grammy nominations for their 2006 Látigo, 2007 Whirled
Chamber Music, and 2009 QSF Plays Brubeck. Now they are preparing to release a
dazzling new CD, Pacific Premieres: New Works by California Composers, on
ViolinJazz Recordings.The disc, due out September 24, delivers a program featuring
two swinging new suites by noted jazz big band leader, composer, and arranger
Gordon Goodwin; a breathtaking three-movement string quartet by conductor,
arranger, and composer Vince Mendoza; and a gorgeous new work by legendary
Hollywood composer Patrick Williams. QSF's founder and first violinist Jeremy
Cohen closes the album with a brilliant piece of his own, "Guamba."
Well
versed in the violin's deep jazz roots, Cohen combines his love of jazz and
classical music in QSF. "As both a classically trained and improvising
jazz violinist," he says, "I began to write and arrange music that
had the sounds of my generation in it -- Santana, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tower
of Power, and so many more. Combine this modern musical era with the chamber
music tradition inside of a developing young musician, and you have the seeds
of QSF's DNA. The creation of Quartet San Francisco in 2001 was a clear move to
encourage, create, and perform works from this modern age of chamber
music."
Recorded
at Skywalker Sound in Nicasio, CA by the Grammy Award-winning engineer Leslie
Ann Jones, and mixed by Judy Kirschner, Pacific Premieres rivets from beginning
to end, offering an experience unlike anything else on the scene. Employing the
subtle dynamics, textural acuity, and technical prowess of a top-flight string
quartet, QSF maintains the improvisational imperative and emotional intensity
of a hard-bop combo. Whether you call it chamber jazz, third stream, or simply
new American music, the ensemble has honed a singular sound that has inspired
some of the era's most celebrated composers.
"The
ability to swing began to steal into the ranks of classical strings players a
few years ago," critic Doug Ramsey wrote in his review of QSF Plays
Brubeck. "Although they may not discuss it in the polite company of their
easily-shocked older colleagues, some of them are also improvising with
proficiency and joy. There is convincing evidence of both phenomena in the
QSF's CD of 10 pieces by Dave Brubeck, and Paul Desmond's 'Take Five.'"
Quartet
San Francisco Since QSF's last release, the band has undergone some personnel
shifts, resulting in a prodigious new lineup. Through the group's work in the
San Francisco Symphony's Adventures In Music program, the quartet shared some
170 performances before heading into the studio.
Joining
Cohen on violin is Matthew Szemela, a Mannes College graduate who has performed
widely in pop, jazz, chamber, and symphonic settings, including collaborations
with tap master Savion Glover, vocalist Cassandra Wilson, and rapper Jay-Z;
Santa Cruz-based Chad Kaltinger, an active freelancer around the Bay Area who
performs widely in an array of settings and is the principal violist for Opera
San Jose and the Santa Cruz Symphony; and cellist Kelley Maulbetsch, a member
of the Marin, Santa Rosa, Fresno, Monterey, and Modesto Symphonies (and
assistant principal cello of the Sarasota Opera Festival) who also freelances
extensively and performs in the bands of major San Francisco stage productions.
Quartet
San Francisco will premiere the music of Pacific Premieres at Yoshi's Oakland
on Thursday 9/26 at 8:00 pm.
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