Turtle Island Quartet at Tempe Center for the Arts

Its name derived from creation mythology found in Native American Folklore, the Turtle Island Quartet, since its inception in 1985, has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. Winner of the 2006 and most recently, the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album, Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles, and by devising a performance practice that honors both, the state of the art has inevitably been redefined.
For the past 17 years, Sutton has fronted the Tierney Sutton Band featuring pianist Christian Jacob, bassists Trey Henry and Kevin Axt, and drummer Ray Brinker...

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Its name derived from creation mythology found in Native American Folklore, the Turtle Island Quartet, since its inception in 1985, has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. Winner of the 2006 and most recently, the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album, Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles, and by devising a performance practice that honors both, the state of the art has inevitably been redefined.
For the past 17 years, Sutton has fronted the Tierney Sutton Band featuring pianist Christian Jacob, bassists Trey Henry and Kevin Axt, and drummer Ray Brinker. Since 1998, Tierney has recorded nine top jazz albums, including the 2009 Grammy nominated CD, Desire, and the band's most recent release, American Road. Tierney has also been performing in a trio format with flautist Hubert Laws and guitarist Larry Koonse.

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