Contact: Eddie Ward, Dera, Roslan & Campion PR
212-966-4600 /
NEW YORK, NY - January 2, 2006 - In time for Valentine’s Day, Quartet San Francisco unleashes their sensual side with wall-to-wall tangos and Latin-inflected compositions and mood pieces in “Latigo,” their second full-length album. As the ultimate soundtrack for both a night of cheek-to-cheek dancing and reflective romanticism, this long-awaited project for this award-winning quartet is their first musical release after earning both the Grand Prize and a Special Prize in the International Tango Competition in May 2004, hosted by the Argentine Consulate in New York City.
Rarely do people use the terms “improv” and “alternative” to describe chamber music ensembles, especially a quartet of two violinists, a violist and cellist who all have had formal classical music training and have been played in orchestras and concert halls around the world. But Quartet San Francisco — led by nationally-renowned jazz violinist and founder Jeremy Cohen — incorporates a more modern approach as they swing and groove on both drastic and faithful re-arrangements of many genres, from tango and Big Band to klezmer to Ellington and Dave Brubeck, to Tchaikovsky to Gershwin, and Mozart and Mingus.
With this CD, Quartet San Francisco - violinists Cohen and Kayo Miki, violist Emily Onderdonk, and cellist Joel Cohen play up to their strengths as versatile musicians and convey a new, fresh, alternative to the older, conservatory music approach. “Our performance on first listen may be formal concert material, but is stylistically intense, really swings and has a hard groove,” says Cohen. “It’s rhythmic, Latin and funky — it’s where we see classical music clearly headed.”
“We lean towards classical music in posture, but stylistically, our attitude is jazz-oriented, which allows us to tackle all sorts of genres, from tango and Latin grooves to funk/pop to world music,” Cohen added.
While their last full-length effort was an enticing sample of all their genres, including their endearing cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke,” this album is completely devoted to Latin musical culture. Latigo plays on your inner hot blooded Latino self with melody lines that are equally intriguing and fun that puts a smile on your face. “Milongueando en el 40” merges old-school classical transitions with lilting foot-tapping rhythms. “Latigo” is named after a violin technique commonly used in tango, a light whipping effect that flows as fluidly as this dance that sweeps lovers off of their feet.
The album features a new, original composition by Cohen, entitled “Crowdambo,” a stirring tribute to his late violin teacher, Anne Crowden, who died last year. Other alluring compostitions are abound, including a playful rendition of “Cool” from “West Side Story,””Cachita,” “Felicia” and “Armando Rhumba”, made popular by one of Cohen’s greatest influences, the legendary Latino pianist Chick Corea. Three of the tracks feature percussionst John Santos, who was one of this year’s Latino Grammy nominee in the traditional field for the Puerto Rican flavored Para Ellos by John Santos y El Coro Folklórico Kindembo.
Their approach may look ahead bright-eyed to the future, but it’s starry-eyed as it points to sources of inspiration and magic in the past, namely Hollywood. Cohen uses his trademark violin which once belonged to Lou Raderman, who performed solos on that instrument as the concertmaster of the MGM orchestra from 1939 to 1969 and on the soundtracks of many MGM movies starting with “The Wizard Of Oz.” Also, the majority of the CD was recorded at Skywalker Ranch, the film studio belonging to George Lucas and was engineered by Leslie Ann Jones, the daughter of the famed band leader Spike Jones.
Tango has been boiling in their blood for quite some time. Cohen, who has studied under Itzhak Perlman for two years and uses the same violin played by the concert master of the MGM orchestra in the 1930s-60s in such immortal films as “The Wizard of Oz,” was the lead violinist for “Forever Tango,” the successful Broadway production which enjoyed long engagements in New York City and San Francisco. All of the tracks on the album, with the exception of a few newly composed selections, are mainstays in their repertoire.
Says Cohen: “I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area with Carlos Santana as one of the musical icons of my youth. While studying classical violin, I was listening to and playing along with Chick Corea and Stevie Wonder, all musicians who clearly had a love and respect for the music that preceded their own, including the great classics. When the opportunity to play Latin, funk and tango music presented themselves in my career, there was never any question that I was eager and willing to go in these directions musically.”
About Quartet San Francisco: This talented troupe of artists, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, was founded in 2001 by well-known jazz and classical violinist Jeremy Cohen, with violinist Emily Onderdonk, cellist Joel Cohen (violinist Kayo Miki joined in 2004.) Their objective from the start was to create a genre of string chamber literature which gathers material from more contemporary genres of music. They’ve brought their characterisitc fare of musical styles to local, national and international audiences in a variety of venues that include tango clubs and concert halls, jazz festivals, museums and classrooms.
Quartet San Francisco has earned critical accolades from both well-known fans and audiences around the world. Says mezzo soprano Frederica von Stade about one of their shows, “I have been so impressed by their work: the joyfulness of playing, their innovation, the fun and the genius of putting together suich a great evening of music. I saw how much the public loved their playing and how impressed everyone was with their flair and brilliance. I add my name with great joy to their list of fans.”
elfenworks is the executive producer of Latigo. An ambitious multimedia company, elfenworks was created in 1998 to help individual artists promote themselves within the industry and to fans through websites, printed materials, recordings, and marketing / publicity campaigns. For more information about elfenworks, visit www.elfenworks.com.
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