Can’t wait to get to New York!

My sister and I are cruising through the grasslands of Nebraska, all of my physical possessions in tow, destined towards Brooklyn, USA. Spirits are high and possibilities are endless and exciting. At least, that’s usually been the vibe, though there’s some sadness too. It’s difficult to say goodbye to a cozy home, a state – California – and a band, even when your gut, intuition, and reasoning all point the same direction.

May 18, 2012 will be my last performance with the famous Turtle Island [String] Quartet. It’s been an amazing four ½, nearly five years that I’ve been a full-time member.  I’m fortunate enough to have seen forty-foot ice owls in Alaska; jammed with master choro musicians in Sao Paulo; performed astride glimmering glass Austrian furnaces; surfed with violin masters in Porto, Portugal; jumped from the greatest heights in Las Vegas; and last – but absolutely not least – contributed to a number of meaningful collaborations and projects, with such artists as Cyrus Chestnut, Stefon Harris, Sergio & Odair Assad, Paquito D’Rivera, Luna Negra Dance Company and more. I’ve also recorded on two full-length albums with the group – “Have You Ever Been,” featuring our interpretations of the music of Jimi Hendrix, and a collaboration with mandolin master Mike Marshall, to be released later this year. All the while during my time on the Island, I’ve been working and recording with my own band as well, featuring amazing acoustic musicians from all around the US; arranging and collaborating with other artists such as Abigail Washburn and My Morning Jacket; and doing studio work for Sony, Disney & the like. The San Francisco Bay has been my home, and Turtle Island has been my main band; I’m so incredibly grateful to have lived among such beautiful, inspiring communities, and to have contributed to a group with such a rich legacy of innovative music!

And now, I’m being drawn to a different path. New opportunities and musical energies are calling me eastward, so I’ve decided to leave the quartet and embark on a new adventure. I land in Brooklyn next Wednesday. I love NYC dearly – I lived there for two years during my grad work at Manhattan School of Music – and I’m looking forward to returning. I want to make time for developing some of the sounds I’m hearing and for new collaborations there; I’d like to see how much I can learn, & how much I can give; ideally a balance of stability and flexibility is what I’m hoping for. I have so many ideas and directions in mind that it’s turning out to be more a question of what not to do than what to do!  :-D  One thing’s for sure – I will be touring more with my own band (and as a soloist too), and we hope to see you when we roll through your community.  As always, thank you so much for your support!!

I’m so excited for this next chapter; hope to see you along the way!

Happy flyin’.

It chronicles many of Jeremy’s adventures of the past few years.  Jeremy also discusses many of the joys and challenges related to being a diverse and ambitious musician these days.

A gripping tale, indeed!

Scroll down past the cover to read the article; just click on those pages.

You can subscribe to Strings Magazine by visiting http://allthingsstrings.com

Happy holidays, and holy-days, from brisk northern California, where you’ll be happy to know I’m still vying to catch a good sunburn or two before the solstice.  I hope you are all more than tip-top and maintaining a sense of peace and clarity as we together ramble through the befuddling commercial hecticism that is December in the USA.

That said sincerely, there is a *sale* (woohoo!) on my very first album, the oh-so-mysteriously-named Celtic Fiddle, completed when I was but a lad of sixteen.  I’ve been told it has touched a heart, or two, and it’s only $10 plus shipping for now.  What’s more, if you order three or more CDs from my website at one time, we will refund your shipping entirely (when we fill the order).  Just visit the shop by clicking here to easily order some music for your friends and loved ones.

It was so great to see many of y’all at concerts recently.   I’ve been bopping all over the country the last couple months, touring mostly with the Turtle Island Quartet and some as the Jeremy Kittel Band.  I’ve been everywhere, man (Johnny Cash, anyone?).  Indiana, North Carolina, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Wisconsin, California, NYC, Virginia, many states in the northeast, not to mention an intense tour through the sand hills of Nebraska!   … Which is where we encountered the fabled, mystical Carhenge; take a look.  Surprisingly low in kitsch; high in heart.  Better than the orig?

The coming new year promises to bring much excitement and opportunity.  In early January, I’ll be out performing in Virginia and North Carolina with my own band for a weekend, featuring the fantastic musicians Josh Pinkham (mandolin), Nathaniel Smith (cello), and Simon Chrisman (dulcimer).  I expect to see all of you there (no excuses, Alaskans!)  Shortly afterward, I’m looking forward to spending some time in Kentucky doing some recording for friend and cellist/songwriter extraordinaire Ben Sollee’s next album.  Definitely check out Ben’s music if you haven’t heard him yet.  Last but not least, Turtle Island will be swinging through LA, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Deutschland early in the new year, so come hear some great music and say hello.

For now; wishing all the best to you and yours!  Stay well,

-Jeremy

As violist for Turtle Island, sometimes I get to wear more than just one hat. I mean, violist is by far my largest hat with el Turtles (literally speaking it might be a gigantic chrome sombrero), but I also get to take that off sometimes and put on a much smaller, equally comfortable hat, as sound amplification expert for our live shows (nice title, eh?)! Meaning I work with the sound engineer at each venue to make us sound as glorious as possible out in the “house,” or audience. I like to think that this hat would be a deerstalker, the precise kind of hat worn by Sherlock Holmes, because doing live sound is kind of like being a sleuth. Well, recently, Los Turtle-inos and myself performed at an amazing venue for many thousands of wonderful people in the distant land of Chicago. Seriously, it was cool. Really cool. Here, why don’t you just take a look:

What in heavens name is that, do you ask? Why, what great, shining billows of steel it has! What majestic tresses, what impressive angles – what noblest efforts of man must have resulted in its creation! Well, calm down just for a moment so I can tell you about it. Designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, this is Chicago’s own Pritzker Pavilion, in the heart of Millennium Park, which is in the heart of Grant Park, which in turn is in the heart of – you guessed it – Chicago. We performed there a few weeks ago for some five thousand fabulous humans. A good time was had by most, to be sure, and not least due to the state-of-the-art sound system, unlike any we’ve ever encountered before.

Designed by the Talaske group of Oak Park, IL, the LARAS sound system is the first of its kind implemented in the US. Essentially, the system recreates an indoor acoustical environment for listeners in the park. See that trellis of beams curving over the audience? Each of those beams has multiple speakers attached, forming a web of sound amplification stretching along the entire field. If you’re within that web, then noise from the city will be quieted, and the music will sound very much as though you are actually inside a world-class theater.

Although we often use some amplification, we in Turtle Island are essentially acoustic musicians, and giving a great performance for audiences in outdoor settings can be tough because of the lack of natural, beautiful acoustics. Performing at Millennium Park was outstanding and gave us the best of both worlds – performing outdoors for a big crowd surrounded by all the beauty of downtown Chicago, whilst both the audience and we enjoyed an immaculate, intimate sonic experience.

Hey all, just wanted to put up a quick post to tell what I’ve been up to.  I flew to Nashville last week to spend a few days arranging and recording strings for My Morning Jacket – a powerful, honest, and thoughtful band that’s been called “the best thing to happen in rock music in years.”  They had finished recording all the other instruments, so strings were the last element to add before mixing.  It was a truly great crew of guys to work with – Jim James (lead vocals, guitar), Patrick Hallahan (drums), and Carl Broemel (guitar) from the band; Tucker Martine producing (I met Tucker working on Abigail Washburn’s record last year); and good ol’ Ben Sollee came down from Lexington, KY to play some cello.

What did I play?  Bass, of course.  Well…. I *did* lay down some wicked arco bass on one tune, which was seriously too much fun (have I been playing the wrong instrument?), but most of the time I was oscillating between a couple violins and a viola, layering sometimes dozens of parts to get a big, glorious string sound.  We were at legendary Blackbird Studio – and they had a sweet-sounding echo chamber we used as well.

The songs are beautiful, real, and often immense – the five songs I heard and worked on, anyway, and the little I heard of the rest of the album was so exciting.  Hopefully we’ll get to hear the whole, finished album soon -  maybe as soon as the spring if all goes well!

Peace…

-Jeremy

“Compass Recording Artist and violist for the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, Jeremy Kittel leads an exceptional band whose musical roots transverse the world. With the drive of Celtic fiddling, spontaneity of jazz, soul of the blues and intricacies of chamber music, the Jeremy Kittel Band consistently captivates audiences.  Jeremy is joined by some of the most dynamic young performers on the American acoustic music scene – the four-piece band usually includes the core members Josh Pinkham (mandolin), Nathaniel Smith (cello), and Simon Chrisman (hammered dulcimer).

Josh Pinkham took to the mandolin at age twelve and in a very short time has made a true mark for himself as a player, composer, recording artist and concert performer; by the time Josh was just 14 he had played on stage with nearly all of his mandolin heroes.  He continues to push his mandolin into new and old territory; excelling in Bluegrass, Newgrass, Jazz and Classical music, Joshua was named “the future of the mandolin” by Mandolin Magazine in their review of his CD, “Solo Mandolin Duets.”  Scott Tichenor of Mandolin Cafe described Josh’s solos on the Youtube videos with Frank Vignola and Jascho Stefan as “Jaw Dropping”.  And mandolin forefather David Grisman, with whom Joshua has just completed a recording, named him “as certainly one of the most important young improvisers on the acoustic scene today.”

Hammered dulcimer wizard Simon Chrisman tours with the Bee Eaters, has performed with Mike Marshall and Darol Anger, opened for Bill Frisell, and at 16 was a scholarship guest artist at the Augusta Heritage Festival in West Virginia. His sophisticated rhythmic sense and ingenious tonal flexibility, on an instrument usually considered limited, has created a buzz among musicians all over the world.

Nathaniel Smith began touring with Mark O’Connor in 2006 and has been the cellist for Natalie MacMaster since 2007. He has toured both the US and Canada extensively. He has been the recipient of the ASTA Alternative Styles award and has performed on the national public radio program, From The Top. In 2008, he collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma on his recording, Songs of Joy and Peace. He released his first CD of original music for cello, “Arrhythmia,” in December 2009.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bluegrass Jam

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hey Joe

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Chase

Click here to view the embedded video.

Irish Jig Medley

]]> http://jeremykittel.com/2010/12/new-dudes-in-band/feed/ 0