Turtle Island String Quartet - A Night in Tunisia, a Week in Detroit [CD]

The Turtle Island String Quartet has prided itself with stretching musical boundaries that record labels, radio, the press, record stores, and even their own fans are not sure if there's one predominate style of music in which they can be categorized. Following the departure of one of the group's founders, David Balakrishnan (who still wrote for the group and eventually returned), the quartet widened their musical horizons even more. They are featured in excerpts from several 1994 concerts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Neeme Jarvi, on this CD for the English label Chandos. Balakrishnan's occasionally eerie two-part suite "Spider Dreams" (previously recorded in the studio for Windham Hill) opens the disc. The opening movement, "Introductions," of Jeff Beal's four-part suite "Interchange" is reminiscent of the symphonic works of Frank Zappa and is fully composed, while the remaining sections gradually add improvisational elements. Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia" was one of the stunning tracks of the Turtle Island String Quartet's debut recording; this version with orchestra was co-arranged by Balakrishnan and Vince Mendoza, though the somewhat over dramatic buildup pales beside the original version. More successful is the medley of two songs by Miles Davis, "Blue in Green" and "Seven Steps to Heaven." "Bach's Lunch" is violist Danny Seidenberg's amusing alchemy of various themes by J. S. Bach, often sounding like Baroque music meets bluegrass. He also arranged Tower of Power's "Who Do Think You Are?" Fans of the Turtle Island String Quartet will want to make an effort to locate this CD, though it ranks slightly below the earlier groups with Balakrishnan still on board. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide