Album Notes

The Creaking Tree String Quartet is the product of four adept and accomplished musicians, dedicated to performing unique and exciting material that raises the bar for instrumental acoustic music. This ensemble, made up of violinist John Showman, guitarist Brad Keller, mandolinist Andrew Collins and bassist Brian Kobayakawa, has a distinct sound that lives in the cracks between idioms. It's acoustic roots music that combines intricate phrasing with imaginative rhythms. Too outside for bluegrass, but too driving for jazz; too free to be chamber music, but too structured for the avant-garde. All can agree this is exciting new music.

What began as an impromptu jam session solidified in January 2002 as The Creaking Tree String Quartet. Their self-titled debut album was nominated for a 2004 Juno Award, and received significant international press and airplay. Enabled by the group's diverse influences, and their enthralling live show, the Creaking Tree String Quartet are standouts to Bluegrass, Jazz, Folk and Classical audiences alike. Hot off a summer tour that took them from coast to coast and back, the fall of 2004 marks the release of their much-anticipated follow-up record: "Side Two". Entirely composed and produced by the group and mixed and mastered by Grammy Award winner Todd Phillips, "Side Two" cements their reputation as an independent voice on the cutting edge of instrumental music.