Edgar Gabriel's STRINGFUSION

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Northwest Suburban Diversions — 02-09-06


Violinist Gabriel bridges genres

BY JENNIFER OLVERA
CONTRIBUTOR

Edgar Gabriel isn't happy with the music he hears on the radio, so the Arlington Heights violinist decided to create his own musical style, one that melds influences both of the past and present. The resulting conglomeration of classical, rock, world, jazz and country is future-forward and intriguingly original.

His group, Stringfusion, will perform at the Harper College Community Music Center Saturday, playing songs from its self-produced CD, released late last year.

As is the case with most virtuosos, the groundwork was laid some time back. He started composing pieces in the style of Beethoven and Mozart at age 10 and began taking violin lessons in his hometown of Niles. Not content to stop there, Gabriel studied with Chicago Symphony Orchestra member Arnold Brostoff beginning in seventh grade.

"I always, always loved classical music," he recalled. "I suppose, looking back, it's strange for a kid to be so into it, but I was. I really listened to nothing but."

Gabriel, now a violin instructor at Harper College, went on to study music at Northern Illinois University. Not long after receiving his undergraduate degree, Gabriel accepted a position performing at teas and dinners for the well-to-do at a hotel in West Virginia.

After returning to Chicago and getting his master's in jazz composition from De Paul University, Gabriel hooked up with area symphonies. He has appeared at numerous jazz, rock and blues venues with notable musicians such as Robert Plant, Jimmie Page, Elvis Costello, the Moody Blues, Smokey Robinson and Dennis DeYoung.

Recently, his versatility won him positions at Cirque du Soliel. In 2002, he worked in Las Vegas with its Mystère show and toured with Dralion in 2003. His violin work also can be heard on numerous jingles, soundtracks and CDs. Recently, he even recorded with rock band Cheap Trick for its "Special One" CD.

After decades of formal training and professional experience, Gabriel's mission remains the same.

"I want to bring the violin back to its rightful place," he said.

"He defies description," said Henrietta Neely, coordinator of the Harper College Community Music Center and founder of the faculty-based series. "While he is a classically trained violinist, Edgar is so much more. You will be knocked out by his level of expertise -- that I'm sure of."

This is the first year the college is offering the series, and Gabriel's concert is the fourth of seven to be offered.

Although Stringfusion's lineup changes depending on the performance, audience members can expect to see him this time alongside Kevin O'Connell on piano, Inderjeet Sindhu on drums and tabla, Sarah Alexander on cello and Maurice Houston on bass.

They'll perform all of the pieces off of their CD, which can be purchased online at www.stringfusion.com, including Frank Zappa tune, "I'm the Slime."

"I'll play the electric violin on most of the material," Gabriel said. "And I hope people will walk away looking a music in a new, refreshing way."

Stringfusion

Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m.

Building J Theatre, Harper College, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine

$15

(847) 925-6100

www.stringfusion.com



Copyright© 2006, Digital Chicago Inc.

- Pioneer Press

Violinist Edgar Gabriel...is particularly impressive on his own short instrumental 'Irish Whiskey.' -The Illinois Entertainer

..Inexplicably composed works that layer melodies, shifts rhythms, switches genres on a dime, and toy with themes like a cat with a ball of yarn. -The DePaulia Magazine

(Edgar Gabriel's) intensity brings the power of the harder rock sections to life. -Pioneer Press

- Various Newsprint

April 12, 2007
By LILLI KUZMA Contributor
Not all pictures are worth a thousand words, but some convey a sense of sound, rhythm and mood. The band photo of Edgar Gabriel's Stringfusion, the musicians posed casually with a mix of acoustic and electric instruments, exudes a confidence in musicianship, originality in style and excitement in sound.
"We are jazz musicians, but infused with other music," said Gabriel. "I don't like to put us in one category of music, because there are really just two kinds of music -- good and bad -- but, if I had to put us in one, it would be jazz, because we are highly improvisatory."
With a blend of classical, folk, rock and world elements, the music of Stringfusion is a melding of sounds and styles. Add to this an extremely high level of musicianship, with original arrangements of famous songs and original material, and the end result is a truly unique product.
Led by founder and leader Gabriel, of Arlington Heights, the band debuted in early 2005 at the Heartland Cafe in Chicago. They'll play at Harper College Saturday.
A little of everything
"The people really liked us, and we've been working steadily every month since then," Gabriel said. "We play everything from Jimi Hendrix to Bach. Songs like 'Spain' by Chick Corea. Frank Zappa. Allman Brothers. Gypsy jazz. Indian ragas. New country."
A line-up of seven musicians is increased or decreased depending on the circumstances.
Stringfusion is comprised of Gabriel, acoustic/electric violin, mandolin; Kevin O'Connell of Arlington Heights, piano; Sarah Alexander of Skokie, cello; Inderjeet Sidhu of Barrington, drumset and tabla; Maurice Houston of North Chicago, electric bass; Steve Doyle of Chicago, guitars; and Michael Levin of Chicago, saxophone/clarinet.
Gabriel, who started on violin at 8 years old, played in the orchestra at Niles North High School and with the Chicago Youth Orchestra.
"I gravitated towards rock and jazz, music that had instrumentalists that were highly technical," he said. "Bands like Kansas, who I saw in 1980. Also, I liked the heavy metal bands, like UFO and The Scorpions, great guitar players. Jean-Luc Ponty, Lenny White, the Brecker Brothers, this is what I listened to."
Drawn to fusion styles, Gabriel recalls his first electric violin:
"I was 16 and in bands, and wanted to amplify my sound. I ordered an electric violin through the mail but it wasn't very good. So I would use some sort of pick-up on my violin. No one sold electric violins. It wasn't until the late 80's that I bought my first (real one)."
Gabriel, a composer/ arranger and a staff music teacher at Harper College, has played the highly-regarded Zeta electric violins, and presently boasts a hand-made Gary Rickman.
Classical notes
Gabriel's classical violin is an Italian-made Enrico Rocca, which was more appropriate for an early gig requiring a more formal style of music.
"Right after college, I got a job playing teas and dinners at a five-star hotel in West Virginia, the Green Briar," he said. "It was a hotel built in the '50s at the (start of) the Cold War, with a bomb shelter for government officials under the hotel. The very rich and famous came there. I met Red Skelton, who was one of the nicest guys, and I remember Alexander Haig was there all the time. The shelter was still classified when I played there, but somehow everyone knew about the bomb shelter."
Other memorable gigs include Gabriel's work with rock band, Cheap Trick, playing violin for a jingle on a DiGiorno Pizza commercial and touring with Cirque de Soleil in 2003. Gabriel has also played with the likes of Rachel Barton and Hello Dave.
Asked if his baby daughter, Annabelle, will be a musician, Gabriel said:
"She has a thirty-second size violin. I got it off of eBay. Every time I bring out mine, I put hers under her shoulder and she fools around with it. And giggles," he said.
EDGAR GABRIEL'S STRINGFUSION
7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at Harper College, Building J Theatre, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine. $15; $12 non-Harper students; $10 Harper students and staff; free children 12 and younger. (847) 925-6659 or visit www.harpercollege.edu.


- Arlington Post

www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p04787.htm

Any band that'll cover King Crimson, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Frank Zappa (and Gabriel has worked with Page & Plant, Ray Charles, and others) has my undivided attention—not that that's occurring here but this collective of virtuosi has indeed done so, possessing the chops, intelligence, and breadth to embrace all that while setting down here a CD of top-flight jazz fusion along the lines of the Dixie Dregs, Tribal Tech, Spyro Gyra, and the Crusaders…with a little hot jazz a la Django and Grapelli along the way.
Much of Not Radio Material is highly romantic in the lush amorous sense but also Romantic in the classical sense, packed in with tunes standing well with John Klemmer's landmark Barefoot Ballet. Credit Michael Levin's sax and Gabriel's violin for much of that, but don't count out Kevin O'Connell's piano, which treads a line between Brubeck, Evans, and Sample. Gabriel is a big fan of Jean-Luc Ponty, and it shows in his flawless tone and pacing. And, oh man, those background strings come in at exactly the right time! Listen to There Is No Sun Today and see what I mean.
The prog-fusion element jumps in on songs like Mobile, a serial chase-n-variations cut bringing Ponty's great bands back, the ones with Holdsworth, Stuermer, Lievano, and Glaser…with Gabriel taking their parts and Ponty's. Blue 7 be-bops O'Connell back in, but I caution the listener to pay careful attention to Inderjeet Sidhu's drums here and throughout the CD, as they're on an ECM / DeJohnette / Gurtu level, extraordinarily thoughtful, not restricted to rhythm sectioning by any means but fully in the musical conversation. Once you lock into them, you'll more strongly catch Maurice Houston's perambulating bass, a cat definitely from the old jazz school and too often undermixed in the cuts (the only small complaint I have here—well, that and the fact that there's not enough of Stevie Doyle's righteous guitar and Sarah Alexander's cello either).
A mystery: in Nose Bleed, it at first appears that Doyle and Gabriel are engaging in a guitar-violin trade-off a la the old Bolin-Hammer duels, where it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins, but a closer listen makes me wonder. It might be just Gabriel alone, messin' with the envelope characteristics of his instrument. Hotter than hell, in either case. Not Radio Material, in whole, is almost all-instrumental with a few vocal cuts, an hour long, and pure pleasure in a very refined sense. It cuts a wide channel through a number of genres and will find high favor among those lamenting that this particular type of fusion is slowly falling by the wayside, too sophisticated for New Age / The Wave type venues and too romantic for the hot-chops-n-nothin-but crew. For the rest of us, it works beautifully.
Track List:
0. Fat Chance on a Friday Afternoon (Stone)
0. There is no Sun Today
0. Would You be My Valentine
0. Mobile
0. I Knew That (O'Connell)
0. Blue 7 (O'Connell) 0. Nose Bleed
0. Train Blues
0. Farewell to a Friend
0. Renaissance Man
0. Happy World Mix
All songs written by Edgar Gabriel except as noted.
Edited by: David N. Pyles
(dnpyles@acousticmusic.com)
Copyright 2008, Peterborough Folk Music Society.
This review may be reprinted with prior permission and attribution.

- Mark Tucker

April 12, 2007
By LILLI KUZMA Contributor
Not all pictures are worth a thousand words, but some convey a sense of sound, rhythm and mood. The band photo of Edgar Gabriel's Stringfusion, the musicians posed casually with a mix of acoustic and electric instruments, exudes a confidence in musicianship, originality in style and excitement in sound.
"We are jazz musicians, but infused with other music," said Gabriel. "I don't like to put us in one category of music, because there are really just two kinds of music -- good and bad -- but, if I had to put us in one, it would be jazz, because we are highly improvisatory."
With a blend of classical, folk, rock and world elements, the music of Stringfusion is a melding of sounds and styles. Add to this an extremely high level of musicianship, with original arrangements of famous songs and original material, and the end result is a truly unique product.
Led by founder and leader Gabriel, of Arlington Heights, the band debuted in early 2005 at the Heartland Cafe in Chicago. They'll play at Harper College Saturday.
A little of everything
"The people really liked us, and we've been working steadily every month since then," Gabriel said. "We play everything from Jimi Hendrix to Bach. Songs like 'Spain' by Chick Corea. Frank Zappa. Allman Brothers. Gypsy jazz. Indian ragas. New country."
A line-up of seven musicians is increased or decreased depending on the circumstances.
Stringfusion is comprised of Gabriel, acoustic/electric violin, mandolin; Kevin O'Connell of Arlington Heights, piano; Sarah Alexander of Skokie, cello; Inderjeet Sidhu of Barrington, drumset and tabla; Maurice Houston of North Chicago, electric bass; Steve Doyle of Chicago, guitars; and Michael Levin of Chicago, saxophone/clarinet.
Gabriel, who started on violin at 8 years old, played in the orchestra at Niles North High School and with the Chicago Youth Orchestra.
"I gravitated towards rock and jazz, music that had instrumentalists that were highly technical," he said. "Bands like Kansas, who I saw in 1980. Also, I liked the heavy metal bands, like UFO and The Scorpions, great guitar players. Jean-Luc Ponty, Lenny White, the Brecker Brothers, this is what I listened to."
Drawn to fusion styles, Gabriel recalls his first electric violin:
"I was 16 and in bands, and wanted to amplify my sound. I ordered an electric violin through the mail but it wasn't very good. So I would use some sort of pick-up on my violin. No one sold electric violins. It wasn't until the late 80's that I bought my first (real one)."
Gabriel, a composer/ arranger and a staff music teacher at Harper College, has played the highly-regarded Zeta electric violins, and presently boasts a hand-made Gary Rickman.
Classical notes
Gabriel's classical violin is an Italian-made Enrico Rocca, which was more appropriate for an early gig requiring a more formal style of music.
"Right after college, I got a job playing teas and dinners at a five-star hotel in West Virginia, the Green Briar," he said. "It was a hotel built in the '50s at the (start of) the Cold War, with a bomb shelter for government officials under the hotel. The very rich and famous came there. I met Red Skelton, who was one of the nicest guys, and I remember Alexander Haig was there all the time. The shelter was still classified when I played there, but somehow everyone knew about the bomb shelter."
Other memorable gigs include Gabriel's work with rock band, Cheap Trick, playing violin for a jingle on a DiGiorno Pizza commercial and touring with Cirque de Soleil in 2003. Gabriel has also played with the likes of Rachel Barton and Hello Dave.
Asked if his baby daughter, Annabelle, will be a musician, Gabriel said:
"She has a thirty-second size violin. I got it off of eBay. Every time I bring out mine, I put hers under her shoulder and she fools around with it. And giggles," he said.
EDGAR GABRIEL'S STRINGFUSION
7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at Harper College, Building J Theatre, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine. $15; $12 non-Harper students; $10 Harper students and staff; free children 12 and younger. (847) 925-6659 or visit www.harpercollege.edu.


- Arlington Post

Written by Partha Mukhopadhyay

Jazz purists might roll their eyes a bit at some of the showmanship former Cirque de Soleil violinist Edgar Gabriel brings to his new, Stringfusion, project, but they’d be missing out on a nice album that does its ‘fusion’ moniker proud. Along the way, Gabriel and company borrow from world, country and other traditions to put together an album that manages to transcend the usual bounds of the genre, and entertain greatly along the way.
Leading the way, as might be expected, is Gabriel’s violin, which he shows off to funky effect on, Fat Chance on a Friday Afternoon, the opening track. Would You Be My Valentine, the first of two tracks to feature vocals showcases the sultry sounds of guest, Mauree. The result is reminiscent of the chill moods achieved by the likes of Zero 7, and stands among the best the disc has to offer.
On a couple of tracks, Stringfusion loses its way, as is the case with Mobile, and its approximation of the triumphalist New Age stylings of a John Tesh or a Yanni. Bassist Maurice Houston opens the track by laying down a sly groove, over which Gabriel plays a lilting melody. The latter half of the track is marked by a succession of solos from Gabriel and keyboardist Kevin O’Connell, before Houston brings his bassline back to the fore to close out the effort. The track wanders a bit from Latin modes, to Irish sounding melodies, and loses strength in the process.
Fortunately, the band recaptures the groove on the more straight-ahead, I Knew That, and really shines on the languid, Blue 7. Gabriel mixes up the mood on the latter tracks by playing a enthusiastic fiddle over the laid back keys, before Michael Levin, Steve Doyle (guitar) and O’Connell take their turn at the lead. At over 7 minutes, Blue 7, is the longest track on the disc, which allows the various members of the ensemble to show off a bit.
The rest of the CD continues on this eclectic path, visiting the countrified blues in Train Blue, an elegant plateau in, Farewell to a Friend, the jazzy swing of, Renaissance Man, before ending the journey in “everything including the kitchen sink” mode in Happy World Mix. That last track travels the world within its own confines, bringing together an almost AOR-friendly pop structure to begin, before giving way to more of Gabriel’s fiddling, before ending with an extended Indian-influenced outro, featuring Inderjeet Sidhu’s tabla work.
The CD is all over the place musically, but it’s forgivable because all the facets of the Stringfusion’s personality are worth a look. The greatest success for Not Radio Material is in the fact that it features top notch playing deserving, and even demanding of more serious listening. That aside Edgar Gabriel and company might find commercial advantage in the fact they offer a little something to so many different people through their music

www.music-reviewer.com/may-2008/jazz-blues-other/edgar-gabriels-stringfusion-::-not-radio-material/

- Partha Mukhopadhyay

Edgar Gabriel’s StringFusion

Not Radio Material

Review by Gary Hill
I’ve put this into the progressive rock category. It could just as easily fit into “non-prog” as a full jazz contribution. For my money there’s enough rock in the midst of this to include it here. I know, that might also count it in as fusion, but I’ve never been clear on the line between fusion and progressive rock. Prog rock frequently includes a mesh of jazz and rock – and isn’t that what fusion is? In any event, whatever you call it, there is some great music here that should keep fans of jazz and fans of jazzy prog happy.

www.musicstreetjournal.com/artists_cdreviews_display.cfm?id=101117


- Gary Hill

Written by Partha Mukhopadhyay

Jazz purists might roll their eyes a bit at some of the showmanship former Cirque de Soleil violinist Edgar Gabriel brings to his new, Stringfusion, project, but they’d be missing out on a nice album that does its ‘fusion’ moniker proud. Along the way, Gabriel and company borrow from world, country and other traditions to put together an album that manages to transcend the usual bounds of the genre, and entertain greatly along the way.
Leading the way, as might be expected, is Gabriel’s violin, which he shows off to funky effect on, Fat Chance on a Friday Afternoon, the opening track. Would You Be My Valentine, the first of two tracks to feature vocals showcases the sultry sounds of guest, Mauree. The result is reminiscent of the chill moods achieved by the likes of Zero 7, and stands among the best the disc has to offer.
On a couple of tracks, Stringfusion loses its way, as is the case with Mobile, and its approximation of the triumphalist New Age stylings of a John Tesh or a Yanni. Bassist Maurice Houston opens the track by laying down a sly groove, over which Gabriel plays a lilting melody. The latter half of the track is marked by a succession of solos from Gabriel and keyboardist Kevin O’Connell, before Houston brings his bassline back to the fore to close out the effort. The track wanders a bit from Latin modes, to Irish sounding melodies, and loses strength in the process.
Fortunately, the band recaptures the groove on the more straight-ahead, I Knew That, and really shines on the languid, Blue 7. Gabriel mixes up the mood on the latter tracks by playing a enthusiastic fiddle over the laid back keys, before Michael Levin, Steve Doyle (guitar) and O’Connell take their turn at the lead. At over 7 minutes, Blue 7, is the longest track on the disc, which allows the various members of the ensemble to show off a bit.
The rest of the CD continues on this eclectic path, visiting the countrified blues in Train Blue, an elegant plateau in, Farewell to a Friend, the jazzy swing of, Renaissance Man, before ending the journey in “everything including the kitchen sink” mode in Happy World Mix. That last track travels the world within its own confines, bringing together an almost AOR-friendly pop structure to begin, before giving way to more of Gabriel’s fiddling, before ending with an extended Indian-influenced outro, featuring Inderjeet Sidhu’s tabla work.
The CD is all over the place musically, but it’s forgivable because all the facets of the Stringfusion’s personality are worth a look. The greatest success for Not Radio Material is in the fact that it features top notch playing deserving, and even demanding of more serious listening. That aside Edgar Gabriel and company might find commercial advantage in the fact they offer a little something to so many different people through their music

www.music-reviewer.com/may-2008/jazz-blues-other/edgar-gabriels-stringfusion-::-not-radio-material/

- Partha Mukhopadhyay

written by denny
Their album name, Not Radio Material, couldn't be more approriate. Edward Gabriel's StringFusion music is a very interesting (and rare) blend of classical instrumentals, primarily violin string arrangements, blended with mellow light jazz piano and saxophone riffs.
A sultry vocal is offered on track three, "Would You Be My Valentine" along with a very smooth keyboard solo. The percussion driven samba of track 4, "Mobile", suggests more Latin swing influences, very contemporary and cool. The saxophone on track 5, "I Knew That" really soars to some impressive heights. Down and dirty blues guitar can be heard on the urban slynish of track 6, "Blue 7", probably my favorite composition on this CD.
The fusion of all the musical elements of this band maybe best on display on track 8's "Train Blues". You get the feeling this song was born out of frustration of dealing with Chicago's L-Train, the north Chicago area apparently being this band's home origins.
It's very difficult to put any exacting tag on what this band's sound really, all I know is it makes for some very nice/late night mellow down easy music, a real treat for any jazz enthusiasts.

vhm.vox.com/library/post/edgar-gabriels-stringfusion---not-radio-material.html

- denny

written by denny
Their album name, Not Radio Material, couldn't be more approriate. Edward Gabriel's StringFusion music is a very interesting (and rare) blend of classical instrumentals, primarily violin string arrangements, blended with mellow light jazz piano and saxophone riffs.
A sultry vocal is offered on track three, "Would You Be My Valentine" along with a very smooth keyboard solo. The percussion driven samba of track 4, "Mobile", suggests more Latin swing influences, very contemporary and cool. The saxophone on track 5, "I Knew That" really soars to some impressive heights. Down and dirty blues guitar can be heard on the urban slynish of track 6, "Blue 7", probably my favorite composition on this CD.
The fusion of all the musical elements of this band maybe best on display on track 8's "Train Blues". You get the feeling this song was born out of frustration of dealing with Chicago's L-Train, the north Chicago area apparently being this band's home origins.
It's very difficult to put any exacting tag on what this band's sound really, all I know is it makes for some very nice/late night mellow down easy music, a real treat for any jazz enthusiasts.

vhm.vox.com/library/post/edgar-gabriels-stringfusion---not-radio-material.html

- denny

The band String Fusion was center stage in front of a packed crowd of over 600 Wolverine students, blasting engaging, fun, and energetic music from all over the world.
The band String Fusion was center stage in front of a packed crowd of over 600 Wolverine students, blasting engaging, fun, and energetic music from all over the world.
Clurtesy of Dawn Dalton, Westgate PTA
Arlington Heights School District 25
Arlington Heights, IL -- One could feel and literally hear the excitement oozing from Westgate Elementary at 1 pm on Thursday, March 31.

The students were not at recess, or gym, and this wasn't a free day. In fact, they were all gathered in the commons, with their attention forward.


The band String Fusion was center stage in front of a packed crowd of over 600 Wolverine students, blasting engaging, fun, and energetic music from all over the world.

"I am playing a fiddle," band front man and Westgate parent Gabriel Edgar said. "This instrument is, however, considered and used in many ways by many different cultures. It's not always called a fiddle."

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Students also learned about the Indian drums, which belonged to a member of the band. String Fusion is made up of five members, all who bring their unique cultural influences to the group, and to students and schools.

Westgate's PTA Multicultural Committee helped organize this two-concert event for the Westgate students to introduce them to different types of music, generating a sense of culture and enlightenment. Not before long, it was a cultural and educational party in the Westgate commons.

Students couldn't help but dance and groove to the music as the band used their instruments to sail, fly, drive and even teleport around the world. The main instruments never changed as String Fusion used the violin/fiddle, the base guitar, the lead guitar, the drums and the Indian drums in different ways to create music from all different cultures, while still teaching these enthusiastic students about the world of music.

String Fusion played authentic music inspired from Ireland (an Irish jig), Germany (Johann Sebastian Bach), Northern India and Western Europe (Gipsy), the Caribbean, and of course America.

"We are going to take our boat and go from Europe and head to America, but just like Columbus, we made a stop in the Caribbean for some Salsa music," Edgar said.

By that time, even the staff was into the groove. One Westgate teacher was up and smiling and dancing to the music as the students took in the information and music. It was on to New Orleans and Jazz music, which opened the student's eyes to the culturally diverse musical scene right here in America. - Daily Herald

Arlington Heights, IL -- One could feel and literally hear the excitement oozing from Westgate Elementary at 1 pm on Thursday, March 31.

The students were not at recess, or gym, and this wasn't a free day. In fact, they were all gathered in the commons, with their attention forward.

The band String Fusion was center stage in front of a packed crowd of over 600 Wolverine students, blasting engaging, fun, and energetic music from all over the world.

"I am playing a fiddle," band front man and Westgate parent Gabriel Edgar said. "This instrument is, however, considered and used in many ways by many different cultures. It's not always called a fiddle."

Students also learned about the Indian drums, which belonged to a member of the band. String Fusion is made up of five members, all who bring their unique cultural influences to the group, and to students and schools.

Westgate's PTA Multicultural Committee helped organize this two-concert event for the Westgate students to introduce them to different types of music, generating a sense of culture and enlightenment. Not before long, it was a cultural and educational party in the Westgate commons.

Students couldn't help but dance and groove to the music as the band used their instruments to sail, fly, drive and even teleport around the world. The main instruments never changed as String Fusion used the violin/fiddle, the base guitar, the lead guitar, the drums and the Indian drums in different ways to create music from all different cultures, while still teaching these enthusiastic students about the world of music.

String Fusion played authentic music inspired from Ireland (an Irish jig), Germany (Johann Sebastian Bach), Northern India and Western Europe (Gipsy), the Caribbean, and of course America.

"We are going to take our boat and go from Europe and head to America, but just like Columbus, we made a stop in the Caribbean for some Salsa music," Edgar said.

By that time, even the staff was into the groove. One Westgate teacher was up and smiling and dancing to the music as the students took in the information and music. It was on to New Orleans and Jazz music, which opened the student's eyes to the culturally diverse musical scene right here in America. - Daily Herald