MENDOCINO CO., 11/29/25 – Two-time Grammy-winning violinist and composer Mads Tolling will perform at the Gualala Arts Center on Saturday.
Tolling will appear as part of the center’s Whale & Jazz Series, which brings world-class musicians to perform contemporary and classic jazz at the coastal community in southwestern Mendocino County.
He’ll be accompanied by pianist Adam Klipple, bassist Gary Brown and drummer Eric Garland.
Tolling, who was born in Copenhagen and now lives in San Francisco, graduated from Berklee College of Music.
He toured and performed for many years with jazz fusion legend Stanley Clarke. He was also a member of the Turtle Island Quartet, a string quartet that blends rock, jazz and classical music. Tolling won two Grammy Awards with the group in 2006 and 2008.
Today, he leads two ensembles — Mads Tolling & The Mads Men and the Mads Tolling Quartet — performing everything from original jazz compositions to 1960s pop. He also tours with Bob Weir’s Wolf Bros & Wolf Pack Band, and Grateful Dead songs arranged by Tolling are often featured in his shows.
On the Gualala Arts Center stage, Tolling will join his musical collaborators to perform “Cristo Redentor” by Donald Byrd and “Three Little Words” by Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar.
It isn’t Tolling’s first appearance at the center. In June, he debuted a new piece, “Coastal Explorations,” which he wrote about Gualala.
Mads Tolling and Friends perform at the Gualala Arts Center in Gualala, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 6. Tickets start at $25 and are available at http://www.gualalaarts.org.