Oct 25, 2016 3 min read

The Turtle Island Quartet will salute John Coltrane and more at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Olin Fine Arts Center on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College.

The quartet will perform from their Grammy-winning program “A Love Supreme.”

Violinists David Balakrishnan and Alex Hargreaves, cellist Malcolm Parson and violist Benjamin von Gutzeit will bring their interpretations of music written and inspired by the 20th-century jazz master to life for the first time together.

The quartet in previous iterations has toured their program around the country with performances at universities and performing arts centers, including Stanford, Florida State, Austin Chamber Music Center, Merkin Concert Hall and the SFJAZZ Miner Auditorium in a double bill with Ravi Coltrane.

The ensemble’s recording of the program was released to great critical acclaim, and the album won a Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Album in 2008.

At the centerpiece of the program, an undertaking that has been an exhilarating challenge for the quartet, is their interpretation of Coltrane’s four-part masterpiece, the 32-minute suite “A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane.”

The jazz epiphany was recorded by Coltrane in 1964, at a time when the country was deeply troubled by issues of race and war. As a personal statement of redemption and salvation that struck a chord in the heart of millions, it became one of the most enduring jazz recordings of all time. Balakrishnan’s arrangement weaves portions of Coltrane’s improvisation into the opening section, then later clears space for Turtle Island’s soloists.

“The experience of playing our ‘Love Supreme Coltrane’ program for such a diverse range of people – from classical music lovers newly discovering Coltrane’s genius, to jazz professionals who regard the masterpiece with a deep and formidable reverence, to fans who just love good music – has affected us in no small way,” Balakrishnan said. “It has been so gratifying to have tapped such a vast reservoir of enthusiasm and support.”

Coltrane’s music – created primarily with saxophone, piano, bass and drums – poses particular challenges to a quartet composed of two violins, a viola and cello.

But, says veteran jazz critic and historian Bob Blumenthal in his liner notes to “A Love Supreme,” “Turtle Island has met these challenges in the past through seamless blends of improvisation, transcription and original orchestration,” all techniques that are brought into play in the present program.

Not limited to just their interpretation of the title work itself, “A Love Supreme” also features a wide range of pieces written by other jazz giants, such as Miles Davis, Horace Silver and Lee Konitz, as well as selections from Balakrishnan’s latest work, “Aeroelasticity: Harmonies Of Impermanence.”

The Turtle Island Quartet has been defying genres and breaking boundaries for more than two decades themselves, “and has shown an ability to function with equal conviction in the classical and jazz realms unmatched by any other contemporary ensemble,” Blumenthal said.

“This is only fitting for players who learned to swing and to improvise as they were learning their instruments.”

Tickets are $12 for general admission, $10 for senior citizens, W&J alumni and non-W&J students and $7 for children 12 and younger. W&J students, faculty and staff can request two complimentary tickets to the performance.

To purchase tickets, visit washjeff.edu. For more information, call the box office at 724-223-6546.