Quartet San Francisco

Working a sort of classical crossover groove with intervals of jazz improvisation somewhat in the vein of the Turtle Island String Quartet, Quartet San Francisco (based, obviously, in the San Francisco bay area) incorporates a high degree of Latin influences into its sound. The quartet first performed together in 2001 and released a debut album, Quartet San Francisco, a year later, using a lineup of violinists Jeremy Cohen and James Shallenberger, violist Emily Onderdonk, cellist Joel Cohen, and bassist James Kerwin. By the group's second album, 2006's Latigo, the membership had stabilized with Kayo Miki replacing Shallenberger on second violin and the group no longer using a bassist (John Santos adds occasional percussion on the album).