Jeremy Kittel Band
BIOGRAPHY
Performance Formats: Quartet
Jeremy Kittel Band
fiery blend of jazz, Celtic fiddling, and sultry world grooves
"Outstanding Michigan Celtic-jazz-bluegrass fiddle whiz …"
— The Boston Globe
"We'd call him a rising star, but he's clearly already risen."
— Detroit Free Press
Special Note to Michigan Presenters:
Jeremy is registered with the Michigan Humanities Council for possible matching grants for festivals, schools, libraries, etc. For more information on the organization and the fund application process, visit this link.
If you should run into Jeremy Kittel somewhere on this planet, ask him any question except "What's your favorite style of music?" It's not that he'll be so offended as to reprimand you with his violin bow — on the contrary. As anyone who has seen him in concert can attest, his talent is matched by a kind of confident good nature that once spurred the Ann Arbor News to write, "If he didn't come across as so nice, he'd be a little scary." It's just that Kittel, as someone who is truly steeped in a few very different musical traditions, has heard that question before … many times before, and it's easy to understand why. When a musician is as likely to be found playing a ferocious set of reels in some dark pub in Ireland as he is likely to be found trading licks with a saxophonist at a hip New York City jazz club — and he is occasionally even seen doing such apparently odd-ball things as exploring Indian classical music on stage at Carnegie Hall — one starts to wonder … what is it that drives him?
Whatever the source of his inspiration may be, it has led to a dizzying heap of accomplishments and opportunities, one of which is his recent inclusion as a full-time member of the Grammy award-winning Turtle Island Quartet. Just prior to joining Turtle Island Quartet, Kittel was earning his masters degree in jazz performance at the Manhattan School of Music and skipping town on weekends to perform across the country alongside fiddle legends Mark O'Connor and Darol Anger. He's won multiple U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championships, a total of six Detroit Music Awards for both folk and jazz, and has released three highly acclaimed solo CDs. Upon graduating at age twenty from the University of Michigan Music School, he was awarded the Stanley Medal, their highest honor. And then there's his extensive performance history: venues such as the Kennedy Center, Milwaukee Irish Fest, Detroit Jazz Festival, and "A Prairie Home Companion" as a band leader, and the Detroit Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic as featured orchestral soloist. Impressive, perhaps, but it does little to shed light on the source of his inspiration.
However, a sneak-peak at Kittel's 2009 record, Chasing Sparks, may offer some clues. Recorded over the course of two years in no less than four different cities — New York, Nashville, San Francisco, and Kittel's home town of Ann Arbor, MI — one might expect the music within to lurch from one style to the next in a kind of overt demonstration of his musical adventures. But actually, there is an uplifting fluidity to the sound of the music on this disc, thanks not in least to contributions by some of the most creative and highly-regarded acoustic musicians around. Macarthur "Genius" bassist/composer Edgar Meyer is here, as well as mandolinist Chris Thile of Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers fame. Multi-instrumentalist wizard Mike Marshall (formerly of the David Grisman Quintet) also makes an appearance, as does the auspicious cello-fiddle duo of sisters Natalie and Brittany Haas (Alasdair Fraser's musical partner, and Crooked Still band member, respectively).
But the core musicians on Chasing Sparks are Kittel's own bandmates, who shine throughout and, somehow, manage to share quite a bit of common musical ground with him. Guitarist Kyle Sanna, who appears on almost every track, possesses a knack for musical balance that recently led cellist nonpareil Yo-Yo Ma to hire him as an arranger for his 2008 Sony Classical recording. Cellist Tristan Clarridge is a member of bluegrass sensation Crooked Still and is actually a three-time National Fiddle Champion himself. And cosmopolitan drummer Bodek Janke (he's fluent in five languages) lends deep, visceral grooves with echoes of Africa, India, and Eastern Europe. Each track is woven with earthy, Celtic-inspired melodies; sometimes as a jumping-off point for intricate compositions; other times inducing heady improvisations; still other times maintaining a simpler, more traditional feel. And always, bounding above the expansive textures that pervade the album, is the utterly searing optimism of Kittel's violin, possessing a tone that perhaps can do more to answer the question of what inspires him than words could ever do.
Workshops, Master Classes, and Residency Activities
Jeremy is a highly experienced teacher. As a regular faculty member at such renowned summer programs as the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camps, the Swannanoa Gathering, and the International Academy of Music in Pilsen, he has inspired countless numbers of musicians from all ages and abilities. Comfortable in a variety of situations, he has presented educational programs at schools ranging K-12, has coached college music school students as a member of the Turtle Island Quartet, and has led multiple workshops at American String Teachers Association conferences.
Jeremy is available for master classes and workshops for performers of all ages, and, upon request, an emphasis can be placed on Scottish, Irish, jazz, bluegrass, or other interests. Classes can be for fiddlers only, or can include musicians playing any stringed instrument, with special focus on playing by ear, improvising, and learning to play as part of an ensemble. At schools, Jeremy can work with student orchestras to produce a joint concert of fiddling- and jazz-inspired music in which they perform together. In addition, he and his band can present both educational performances and bus-in performances in conjunction with evening concerts at performing arts centers.
