The
Turtle Island Quartet (known as the "Turtle Island String Quartet" before the 2007 release of
A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane) is a
San Francisco Bay Area based
jazz string quartet formed in 1985 and still actively touring worldwide and recording . They were the first string quartet to achieve artistic and commercial success integrating jazz
improvisation, jazz rhythms and
comping using extended techniques. Their extensive repertoire consists primarily of compositions and arrangements by quartet members that highlight their versatility by bridging several styles including
Bluegrass,
European classical music,
funk,
jazz,
Latin American music, and
Indian classical music. They became known for their renditions of jazz standards, such as founding violinist
David Balakrishnan's Grammy-nominated arrangement of "A Night In Tunisia" by
Dizzy Gillespie, "Stolen Moments" by Oliver Nelson, or "Blue Rondo a la Turk" by
Dave Brubeck on
Art of the Groove, as well as for jazz interpretations of famous
classical music pieces, as shown on the humorously titled "Bach's Lunch" on
The Hamburg Concert. The quartet has also covered
rock and roll pieces, such as
Jimi Hendrix's "Gypsy Eyes" on
Who Do We Think We Are? and
Eric Clapton's - originally Robert Johnson's - "Crossroads" on
Skylife.