Radio.String.Quartet.Vienna
Bernie Mallinger - violin A string quartet paying tribute to the high energy, high velocity Mahavishnu Orchestra of the early 1970s? An oxymoronic concept perhaps, but Veinnese radio.string.quartet’s Celebrating The Mahavishnu Orchestra not only honors the spirit of the group, but proves that Mahavishnu Orchestra founder/guitar icon John McLaughlin’s writing can provide plenty of grist for unexpected and challenging interpretations. Classical string quartets tackling a jazz repertoire is nothing new — Kronos Quartet, for example, has released two albums of music by Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk—but radio.string.quartet’s take is considerably more successful than most. The quartet not only captures Mahavishnu Orchestra’s dynamics, complexity and sometimes reckless fury, but its improvisational aspect as well. This is no polite string quartet; it’s as much a take-no-prisoners ensemble as the group it references. John Kelman Full bio (PDF, 62 KB) |
