Turtle Island Quartet December 10, 2010

Turtle Island Quartet, the groundbreaking Bay Area ensemble that unlocks new perspectives on music and music-making for its audiences, celebrates its 25th anniversary year with a bold program of Jimi Hendrix and original works by TI founder and violinist David Balakrishnan. Joined by jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut and mandolinist Mike Marshall, Turtle Island brings the lineup from the just-released album Have You Ever Been...? to its home city with San Francisco Performances Friday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. in the Herbst Theatre.

Turtle Island's ecstatic playing has moved listeners through Coltrane, Dylan, bluegrass, Latin and rock with energy and purpose-delighting as well as illuminating. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote: "It must have been like this when Beethoven was taking Vienna by storm-the exhilaration of seeing the future of classical music unfold before your eyes and ears."

Twenty-five years of collaboration have taken Turtle Island to the forefront of cross-over, which they have helped define; together with another local ensemble, the Kronos Quartet, they have extended the quartet tradition into a far-reaching exploration of new sounds.

The Dec. 10 program will include Balakrishnan's keystone piece "Tree of Life," melding and crossing genres, as well as a full-on rediscovery of Hendrix, whom Balakrishnan considers a leading influence on his own sound. Chestnut and Marshall team up with Balakrishnan, cellist Mark Summer, violinist Mads Tolling and violist Jeremy Kittel for a dynamic performance.

For tickets and more information, contact 415.392.2545 or visit sfperformances.org.

Official Website: http://www.sfperformances.org