Classical music meets contemporary concepts when Turtle Island Quartet and the Assad Duo bring “String Theory” to George Mason University. Their program plumbs the boundless depths of chamber music as the TIQ and the Brazilian guitarists perform their unique arrangements of jazz, folk, world music and original compositions together and as separate ensembles.
The focus is the art of the groove and how it resonates in every genre from Beethoven symphonies to Piazzolla tangos. Like all four members of TIQ, brothers Sergio and Odair Assad are classically trained composers and arrangers.
Mark Summer, TIQ cellist, likes the way the string instruments and guitars mesh.
“We’d known about the Assads before Paquita D’Rivera introduced us and suggested it would be a good match,” he says. “We’re improvisational and not used to playing what’s on the page. They’re not, but Sergio stretches and writes music with excellent grooves. It feels like we’re improvising because they have great rhythm and the guitar is a quiet instrument that fits in nicely. ‘String Theory,’ which we’ve performed together since early 2007, refers to how we get together musically.”
Improvisation, the key to breaking boundaries, is the power behind TIQ. Both Summer and co-founder violinist David Balakrishnan were trained classically at a time when musicians could move in only two directions. They earned their jazz chops in tandem with symphonic performances. Today’s music schools offer a complete menu of courses which benefited the other two members, violinist Mads Tolling and violist Jeremy Kittel.
Since 1985, the TIQ has collaborated with diverse artists and has released more than a dozen albums. The last two, “4 + 4” with the Ahn Quartet (2005), and “A Love Supreme — the Legacy of John Coltrane” (2007) received Grammy Awards for Best Classical Crossover Album.
“We’re not classical musicians trying to be jazz musicians but are jazz musicians trying to sound like the sax and trumpets on string instruments,” Summer says. “We know we’re successful in convincing the listeners to suspend belief if the phrasing and feeling are right. It was a spiritual and inspiring project to take what we’re been doing for 20 years and give it relevance.”
He promises the diverse GMU program will feature numbers from the TIQ repertoire, some compositions by Sergio Assad, one of which employs a tricky 7/8 meter, and several excerpts from the Coltrane suite.
“The difference between classical and jazz grooves is the back beat,” he says. “In classical music, the beat is on 1 and 3, but the beat in pop music is on 2 and 4. We want the GMU audience to feel the difference immediately.”
If you go
The Turtle Island Quartet and The Assad Brothers explore “String Theory” at 8 p.m. Saturday
Venue: George Mason University Center for the Arts, Fairfax
Tickets: $21 to $42 at (888) 945-2468 or www.gmu.edu.
