Turtle Rock

It’s in the can!  My fellow Turtle Island Quartet members and I, along with some stellar help from vibraphonist Stefon Harris and mandolinist Mike Marshall, have completed work on our “Hendrix” record, entitled “Have You Ever Been.”  Recorded at the cavernous film scoring studios at legendary Skywalker Ranch, “Have You Ever Been” is set to be released this August on Telarc/Concord Records.

We’re very proud and excited about this project; it was a huge challenge for us all to go deep into the music of Jimi Hendrix and to try to come together with music that both captured the true essence of his music and added something new and personal.   Hendrix classics such as “Voodoo Chile,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Gypsy Eyes,” will be there; the record also features a beautiful and ambitious 4-part suite of music, “Tree of Life,” by our violinist/composer-in-residence, David Balakrishnan.  My own contribution to the record?  A re-arrangement of the rock classic, “Hey Joe,” inspired by Hendrix’s hit interpretation.

Skywalker Ranch was an amazing place to record, and we were fortunate to have the multi-Grammy-winning production team of Thom Moore and Robert Friedrich (5/4 Productions) producing and engineering, respectively.  My favorite aspect of this project is that it was a continuously inspiring and honest endeavor – this was no gimmick.   We dove in deep, and with open ears.  Turtle Island will be touring in support of the record throughout the late summer and fall, so check back to see if we’ll be playing near you.