Jeremy Kittel "“Outstanding Michigan Celtic-jazz-bluegrass fiddle wiz Jeremy Kittel†(-The Boston Globe) is rapidly earning a reputation as one of the nation’s most creative young musicians. As a classically-trained youngster, he often traveled to Ireland and Scotland to study traditional music; at home in the U.S., he was exposed to the rich music scene in his native Ann Arbor / Detroit area. In addition to performing with his own band and as a soloist with orchestras, Kittel tours worldwide as the newest member of the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet.
The 24-year-old fiddler/violinist/composer has earned an impressive list of accolades including the 2000 U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship; Kittel also qualified for international competition in Irish fiddle four consecutive years. In 2003 he competed in the first ASTA Alternative Styles Competition, winning the Alfred Award for Best Improvisation, the Mark O’Connor Award of Merit, and IAJE Award for Best Jazz Performance. Since then, Jeremy has been awarded the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin, five Detroit Music Awards including Outstanding Folk Artist and Outstanding Jazz Album, and the ASTA Alternative Strings Award for Music Traditions. At the University Of Michigan School Of Music, Kittel graduated at twenty and received the Stanley Medal, their highest musical honor, and he recently received a masters degree in Jazz Performance from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music.
Kittel has performed at over a thousand concerts and festivals over the past few years including the Kennedy Center, “A Prairie Home Companion,†the Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony, and Carnegie Hall. He has appeared as guest artist with the Vancouver Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, and Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings, and he has taught at many camps and schools such as the International Music Academy in the Czech Republic and the Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camps.
His first CD, “Celtic Fiddle,†was named “one of the top 20 Celtic albums of 2000†by the radio show Celtic Connections. His second, “Roaming,†took second place for Best Celtic Instrumental Album in a competition of 10,000 CDs. His most recent recording, “Jazz Violin,†won the 2006 Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Jazz Recording. His fourth CD, soon to be released, features special guests including Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile.
In January of 2008 he road-tripped with his brother from New York City to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he currently resides.
"Jeremy is an excellent musician." - Chick Corea
"Keep an eye on this young man; he is truly something special." - David Balakrishnan, Turtle Island String Quartet
"Kittel is an amazing fiddler." - Strings Magazine
"Jeremy Kittel is one creative violinist on the move. Artistically he has got the stuff, and a fulfilling career surely awaits him... I believe that Jeremy will have a lot to show us heading in to the future." - Mark O'Connor
"Jeremy is just too damn young to play as well as he does..." - Fiddler Magazine
"It's a much over-used cliché, but I really believe this is what genius sounds like. Highly recommended!" - Jam Rag
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