Quartet San Francisco
| Quartet San Francisco | |
|---|---|
| Origin | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Genres | Jazz, blues, tango, swing, funk, pop |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Violin Jazz |
| Website | www.quartetsanfrancisco.com |
| Members | Jeremy Cohen, violin Matthew Szemela, violin (2012– ) Chad Kaltinger, viola (2012– ) Andrés Vera, cello (2015– ) |
| Past members | Kelley Maulbetsch, cello (2011–2015) Alisa Rose, violin (2009–2012) Keith Lawrence, viola (2008–2012) Michelle Djokic, cello (2008–2011) Joel Cohen, cello (2001–2008) Emily Onderdonk, viola (2002–2008) Kayo Miki, violin (2004–2008) Dawn Harms, violin (2002–2004) James Shallenberger, violin (2001–2002) |
Quartet San Francisco is a non-traditional and eclectic string quartet led by violinist Jeremy Cohen. The group played their first concert in 2001 and has recorded five albums. Playing a wide range of music genres from jazz to blues, tango to swing, and funk to pop, the group challenges the traditional classical music foundation of the string quartet.
Quartet San Francisco won a tango music competition in New York in 2004, and their albums have been nominated five times for Grammy Awards: three in the Best Classical Crossover Album category, and two for Best Engineered Album, Classical.
Quartet leader and violinist Jeremy Cohen founded the Quartet San Francisco as a forum to explore a multitude of musical styles that were important to him but were not being exercised in his work with other ensembles such as Turtle Island Quartet. Oakland-born-and-bred Cohen produces the quartet's albums on his own label, Violin Jazz. Classically trained under Itzhak Perlman and Anne Crowden, Cohen's playing style shows influences from violinists Fritz Kreisler, Joe Venuti and Eddie South.
Originally from Maine, Matthew Szemela joined the quartet in 2012. Matthew has toured and recorded with singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia, recorded with Sufjan Stevens, and in 2006 served as concertmaster of the Hustla Symphony Orchestra for Jay-Z’s “Reasonable Doubt 10th Anniversary Concert” at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Matthew has collaborated with tap dancer, actor, and choreographer Savion Glover on his production “Classical Savion,” and he has appeared with artists Sting, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Lana Del Rey, and Cassandra Wilson as well as the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, guitarist Vernon Reid of “Living Colour,” Susan Sarandon, Beyoncé Knowles, and Olivia Newton John.
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