"String Theory"
Family Matinee: Assad Brothers with The Turtle Island Quartet
Saturday, April 21 • 3pm
$15 Adult (General Admission)
$10 Adult w/Child or Senior (GA)
$5 Child or Senior (GA)
“In the multifarious idiom they have all but invented, Turtle Island remains the ne plus ultra.” - Los Angeles Times
Program Notes
Sergio and Odair Assad are one of the most accomplished, intuitive guitar duos working today. Grounded in classical technique (the two studied with Segovia disciple Monina Távora for seven years), the Brazilian brothers regularly perform stirring transcriptions of Bach and Gershwin. They also draw on an increasingly international repertoire, including Sergio's own compositions and works written for them by Terry Riley, Astor Piazzolla, Nikita Koshkin, and the late Brazilian composers Radamés Gnatalli and Francisco Mignone.
Elder brother Sergio believes much of their success is rooted in their filial relationship. "I believe we were always meant to be a team right from the first time we picked up our guitars," Sergio said. "We began playing guitar at exactly the same time, we always studied with the same teachers and learned the same music and techniques. Such interaction can only really happen with brothers, because we shared every aspect of our musical education together." It must have rubbed off the rest of the family, as the Assads are an astoundingly talented clan that includes acclaimed guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist Badi (who appeared at the 24th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival); Sergio's daughter Clarice, a composer, arranger, and pianist; and Assad patriarch and mandolinist Jorge. Their 2004 concert tour was documented on the DVD Sergio & Odair Assad and Their Family: Um Momento de Puro Amor.
Sharing the stage with the Assads is San Francisco's own Turtle Island Quartet. Longtime assimilators of classical and contemporary idioms from jazz to hip-hop, the group is fresh off a Grammy win (Best Classical Crossover Album) for their 2006 album with the Ying Quartet, Four Plus Four. As Leonard Feather said of the quartet in the Los Angeles Times: "This group has set a standard beyond the reach of its few contemporaries…In the multifarious idiom they have all but invented, Turtle Island remains the ne plus ultra."
