Biography
US National Scottish Fiddle Champion and winner of 6 Detroit Music Awards leads an exceptional band whose musical roots transverse the world. With the drive of Celtic fiddling, the spontaneity of jazz, soul of bluegrass, rhythms of Africa and Latin America, layered melodies of Eastern Europe and intricacies of chamber music, the Jeremy Kittel Band consistently captivates audiences. Jeremy is joined by versatile guitarist Kyle Sanna, World Music award-winning percussionist Bodek Janke, award-winning bassist Andrew Kratzat and cellist Tristan Clarridge, a 4-time National Fiddle Champion.
Fiddle: �Outstanding Michigan Celtic-jazz-bluegrass fiddle wiz Jeremy Kittel� (Boston Globe). Kittel grew up with Scottish, Irish and American music traditions and explored the rich jazz traditions of Detroit and New York as a young man, earning a Bachelor�s in Jazz from the University of Michigan and a Master�s in Jazz Violin from Manhattan School of Music. A true multi-stylist, the 24 year-old fiddler has received numerous accolades including the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship, three Detroit Music Awards for Outstanding Folk Artist, two Alternative Strings Awards from the American String Teachers Association, the University of Michigan Stanley Medal and Detroit Music Awards for Outstanding Jazz Recording, Jazz Composer, and Acoustic Instrumentalist. Kittel has produced three CDs of traditional and original material, and his second, Roaming, was named the 4th best Celtic CD of 2003. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Milwaukee Irish Fest, Detroit International Jazz Festival, and �A Prairie Home Companion;� been guest artist with the Rochester Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony and Detroit Symphony orchestras; toured with fiddle legends Darol Anger and Mark O�Connor; and currently tours internationally with the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet.
Guitar: Kyle Sanna has performed original or improvised music throughout the US and in Canada, Luxembourg, France and Germany. He gigs frequently in New York on acoustic and electric guitar, dobro, and lapsteel. Kyle has also won awards for Outstanding Performer from the Reno Jazz Festival and the University of Oregon School of Music. He has performed numerous times at Carnegie Hall, and recently arranged and co-produced two pieces for cellist Yo-Yo Ma�s 2008 CD release on Sony Classical.
Percussion: Polish-born Bodek Janke is an exceptional musician in the Jazz and World Music scenes, a cultural commuter between the USA, Kazakhstan, Russia, Poland and Germany. In 2008, he received the �Jazzpreis Baden-W�rttemberg,� the highest-endowed and most acclaimed jazz award of Germany. Janke creates a distinctive style, merging drumset with a wild variety of instruments, drawing upon African, Indian, Eastern European and Latin American music traditions. Playing World music with a jazz attitude, his energetic and expressive performances and compositions captivate every audience.
Cello: A talented multi-instrumentalist from the northern mountains of California, Tristan Clarridge is the youngest person to ever win the Grand National Fiddle Championship, and he did it for three consecutive years. An inventive cellist, Tristan plays with the bluegrass sensation Crooked Still, and has toured with Natalie McMaster and Darol Anger's Republic of Strings. For six years he�s been an instructor at Mark O'Connor's String Conference and Alasdair Fraser's Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School. Mark O'Connor says," ...[Tristan] has a lot going on in that musical mind of his and will step out in life to make wonderful contributions through his music".
Bass: Andrew Kratzat is rapidly earning a reputation as one of today�s most promising acoustic musicians - a dazzling virtuoso who plays classical, bluegrass, jazz, and folk music at the highest levels. A graduate in jazz performance from the University of Michigan, he is equally skilled as a performer, composer, and bandleader. Andrew was the youngest person ever to win the International Society of Bassists Jazz Competition, and way back in high school was named Best Student Jazz Instrumentalist by Downbeat Magazine.
Instrumentation
Jeremy performs as a guest artist with orchestras, bands and string ensembles, and teaches at workshops, camps and institutes. He also performs as a duo with guitar.
The World Band includes Kyle Sanna, guitar, Tristan Clarridge, cello, Andrew Kratzat, bass, and Bodek Janke, percussion.
Discography
2000 "Celtic Fiddle" Fiddlestick Records
2003 "Roaming" Fiddlestick Records
Tracks heard internationally on NPR's "Thistle and Shamrock" and many folk stations.
2005 "Jazz Violin" Fiddlestick Records
Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Jazz Recording
Guest artist on numerous recordings including:
William Bolcom "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" 2004, Winner of 4 Grammy Awards
Tally Hall, "Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum," 2008, Atlanta
Hanneke Cassel "Silver" 2006
Aaron Jones, "Window to the World," 2006
Dan Hazlett "Water Over Stone," 2005
Mustard's Retreat, "2005
John Nam, "Energy and Angular Momentum," 2005
Seth Bernard, "Constellation" 2003
Whit Hill and the Postcards, "We Are Here" 2003
Terry Farmer, "Terry Farmer" 2003
Patrick Flanagan, "The Morning after the Night Before" 2000
DVDs:
"String Nation, An International Acoustic Music Event," with Darol Anger, Tim O'Brien, Vasen, Seamus Egan, Mike Marshall, Brittany Haas and the Stephane Wrembel Trio. 2008; a DVD produced by Joe Porcelli. www.stringnation.org
"Fiddle Masters Concert Series Volume II," with Darol Anger, Liz Carroll, Stuart Duncan, Sara Watkins, Luke Bulla, and Tim O' Brien. 2006, The Violin Shop, Nashville, TN. www.fiddlemasters.com
Sound track for independent films "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "Harvest Moon."
Links
| http://www.jeremykittel.com |