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“Scottish harper Catriona McKay’s latest collection Starfish is a thing of extraordinary beauty…Layered delights reveal themselves with each successive exposure: a sure recipe for longevity.” – The Irish Times 2007

2007 Scottish Traditional Awards “Instrumentalist of the Year” Catriona McKay’s new solo CD, Starfish is a gorgeous and mesmerizing album of adventurous and mysterious contemporary Scottish music that features the harp on noticeable lead. Catriona’s music blends elements of folk, jazz, classical, and Scottish traditional music and presents a delightfully sexy exploration of the limits of the Celtic harp. On Starfish, Catriona is backed by solid guitar, fiddle, bass, and string work, as well as subtle electronic treatments.

Well known on the Scottish music scene as a member of the leading Shetland band Fiddlers’ Bid, Catriona McKay has recently began touring in the US and has been featured at several key festivals including Boston’s Irish Connections and Milwaukee’s Irish Fest. She is a fearless contemporary explorer on the Scottish harp, having collaborated with a wide array of folk, jazz, classical and experimental artists, as well as co-designing the new Starfish McKay harp, featuring an alternative tuning pattern and featured extensively on Starfish.

Featuring Donald Grant, Fionan “Fionomenal” De Barra, Matt Baker, Alistair MacDonald, Seamus Egan, and Red Skies.

Karan Casey is one of the most influential and imitated vocalists in Irish and American folk music; a natural innovator, she proves that the ancient and the modern make excellent bedfellows. On Ships in the Forest, her fifth solo album and debut with the Compass Records Group, Casey’s warm, soulful voice ebbs and flows around ballads both timely and timeless. Produced once again by Donald Shaw (of Capercaillie fame), the album was recorded at Casey’s home in County Cork and features the members of her current touring band, Caoimhín Vallely (piano), Kate Ellis (cello) and Robbie Overson (guitar) along with special guests Kris Drever, Niall Vallely and Cillian Vallely.

The songs found on Ships in the Forest range from fresh arrangements of tried and true folk standards (“Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair” and “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye”) to “The Fiddle and the Drum”, Joni Mitchell’s 1969 anti-war madrigal and Martin Furey’s newly-composed “The Town of Athlone”. Casey says of the album: “I feel that this is by far my most ambitious album to date. I think it has taken me all my years as a singer to come to the point of feeling confident enough to tackle the big songs within the traditional repertoire.”

As well as touring extensively with her own band, over the past two years Karan has performed with Peggy Seeger, Liam Clancy, Solas, Lunasa, Breton guitarist Gilles le Bigot, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Karen Matheson and Donald Shaw and was involved in Mick Moloney and Paul Wagner’s Absolutely Irish film project which will be screened on PBS in 2008.

New ventures for 2008 include The Vallely Brother’s Big Band, Karan and Seamus Egan’s new project involving Aoife O’Donovan and Lau, and Niall Vallely’s “Turas na dTaoiseach/Flight of the Earl’s” event, which was premiered in Belfast’s Grand Opera House in November 2007 and is to be repeated during 2008 in Louvain, Belgium.

Casey began 2008 with critically acclaimed appearances at the renowned Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow and will be touring North America throughout February and March.

Since they were wed in 1977, vocalist Dolores Keane and multi-instrumentalist John Faulker have recorded three duet albums, toured extensively together, and have since collaborated on several musical projects.

Dolores Keane was born in Co. Galway, Ireland, and was a founding member of the Irish folk group Dé Danann. After she and  Londoner John Faulkner wed, he produced her first solo album and the duo subsequently recorded three duet albums.

John Faulkner got his start as a member of songwriter Ewan MacColl’s band in the 1960s and early 70s. Later, he and Keane founded the band Reel Union.

Together they have performed and toured extensively throughout the world, focusing especially on North America, Europe, the Eastern Asia, and Australia. To date, Faulkner’s discography includes fifteen albums, six of which he produced or co-produced, and two of which are solo albums. Faulkner is also an accomplished film composer and songwriter, and wrote the music for the 1970s BBC children’s television show Bagpuss.

Founded in 1977, the L’Ensemble Choral du Bout du Monde (the “World’s End Choir”) brought together traditional instrumental performers and over a hundred vocalists from over forty native choral groups throughout Brittany, the celebrated Breton province in Northern France.

Accompanied by bagpipes, keyboards, harps, guitars, flutes, claviers, percussion, conremuse, and the Grand Organ of the Landévennec Abbey, the ensemble keeps the native music alive through both traditional and original choral music in their Breton language (the Celtic dialect of Brittany).

Since 1989, composer, musician, and arranger Christian Desbordes has led the ensemble. In 1991, Desbordes composed the music for a theatrical production, La passion Celtique / Ar Basion Vras.

They recorded albums in 1992 and 1994, and in 1997, L’Ensemble Choral du Bout du Monde recorded Noëls Celtiques: Christmas Music from Brittany for Green Linnet, which won AFIM’s “Best Seasonal Music Album” in 1998.

Michael Black’s self titled album includes a music hall song from the 1930s, a traditional song sung in Irish, a ballad about war and the costs of it from New Zealand, a sea shanty, and a song to dance the baby on your knee. What makes it a cohesive whole is Black’s voice and his love of and natural ability to convey a good story.

Dublin born Michael Black grew up in a family of singers. Mother, Patty, and father, Kevin, filled their home with music and their children clearly took up that love, with all five of them following music professionally at various points in their lives. Black has often performed with his brothers Shay and Martin as The Black Brothers, and he is older brother to Irish superstar Mary Black and top solo artist Frances Black. All five have also recorded three albums together as The Black Family.

“The music’s in my blood, you know, I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it,” he reflects, laughing. With a doctorate in sociology, Black has taught at the university level in San Francisco where he now lives but, “really, my job is a dad. I have three small kids, three girls. My wife works a professional career, and when they came along we made the decision that I’d care for them. I’ve been a teacher, been around kids all my life, so it was a natural decision.” With his daughters growing up, it was time to turn more of his attention to his music. One of the results is his first solo album.

Each of his siblings add vocals to various cuts on this collection, but it is very much Black’s voice, style, and ideas which are the driving force of the album. There’s his ebullient sense of humor on “My Father Loves Nikita Kruschev”, the lively trip he leads around Irish tradition, fun and landscape with “Little Pack of Tailors” / “I’ve Got a Toothache”, a thought provoking look at a soldier’s choice in “The Deserter”, and a heartfelt ballad of the coal miner”s life on “The Coming of the Roads”. “Celt’s very representative of what I do when I’m performing,” Black says. I don’t stick to just that one genre of traditional Irish music, I select from things that suit me and that I like. I needed to make an identity for myself,” he says. “People would say well, we know the name, but we don’t know you. And I wanted to make something I was proud of musically.” To that end, he recruited producer John Doyle, “and I was really lucky. John’s a great guitarist, and a great producer, he’s got a really quick ear, and he understands acoustic music.”

The family pitched in to add outstanding harmonies to the tracks, too. Black’s brothers and sisters Shay, Martin, Mary and Frances all sat in, as did members of the next generation of the Black family, including rising pop star Danny O’Reilly and up and coming singers Eoghan Scott and Roisin O’Reilly. “They’re even more amazing singers than we are,” Black says. “All the family can sing, so why not have them all along?” he adds with chuckle. In addition to John Doyle on guitar and bouzouki, others who support Black on the recording include fiddlers Liz Carroll and Liz Knowles, Solas’ Seamus Egan on whistles, Chico Huff on bass and Dirk Powell on piano.

It’s Michael Black’s voice and influences that hold the center around which these voices and instruments work. Being Irish is part of who he is musically, and he incorporates that into his music always “but I don’t stick to just one genre,” he says. “I’m rooted in roots music, music of the people.” His beloved roots music, from Appalachian ballads to Irish jigs to songs of reflection, is what’s celebrated on this recording. “I’m singing this stuff, and people are enjoying it. This is what I do. This is what I sing.”

LAU has been described as “a formidable union of three of the finest and most innovative exponents of modern traditional music in Scotland today”; Kris Drever (guitar and vocal), Martin Green (piano accordion) and Aidan O’Rourke (fiddle).

Recorded in the winter of 2006, Lau’s debut album, lightweights & gentlemen, sound like men willing to redefine how a trio can sound. Arming themselves with both highly original repertoire and some superb takes on traditional song, their fearless appetite for improv, dig deep into a wild array of genres taking in their influences from around the world and spitting them out as a perfect folk -jazz stew.

The album is a testament to the skills of all three members: Kris Drever’s amazing guitar work and formidable vocals showcases the talents that won him the BBC Folk Awards “Horizon Award”; Aidan O’Rourke’s playing shows you why he won “Instrumentalist of the Year” at this seasons Celtic Music Awards; Martin Green takes the Piano Accordion to places your ears can only dream about visiting. No guests, No frills just three of the finest young artists working in traditional music today showing us what can be done when you keep one ear to the past and an eye on the future.

“The voice, like a fledgling Willie Nelson, captivates” – UNCUT

“Echoes of a young Jackson Browne or Ron Sexsmith…Outstanding.”
– THE DAILY EXPRESS

“All the makings of a classic…timeless…a well crafted, stunning album”
– THE SUNDAY MAIL

Twenty-six year old Scotland native Roddy Hart’s mature, self-assured voice is in direct contrast to the songwriter’s youthful appearance. While it typically takes most singer/songwriters considerable time to shape their individual voices and their ability to write with a sense of self, Roddy Hart has done so at a noticeably young age and with relatively little live performance or studio time. One could attribute Hart’s remarkably mature songwriting to his propensity for assimilating his rootsy Americana influences, namely Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Kris Kristofferson, the latter of which has embraced the young songwriter and contributed to his debut release, Bookmarks. Although Hart was predestined to become a musician, it was not until after a five-year stint at law school (which resulted in a first class honors degree) did he focus his efforts on song craft. “I never had any intentions of doing anything other than music, but I just wanted to broaden my horizons – I felt I was too young and unqualified to write about things I hadn’t experienced yet,” Hart says. Like a fine wine, Hart waited to uncork his gifts until they had fully matured, a sense of restraint that is apparent in his vocals. “The first thing I did when I graduated was record eight songs on an old four-track machine, put together some homemade covers, and sent them off to anyone who would listen.” Despite instantly picking up management and attracting some record company interest, Hart opted to develop his stage craft first – “I felt relatively inexperienced, hadn’t sung in public before, so would just play to anyone, anywhere to get some idea of an audience and how best to play the songs live” – and embarked on a number of shows where he quickly built up a reputation as a promising songwriter and performer, landing him opening spots for John Prine, Ray Lamontagne, and Kris Kristofferson and collaborations with Ryan Adams, Brad Pemberton, and the Trashcan Sinatras.

For a kid from Glasgow, Hart has produced an incredibly fresh piece of American sounding music. Bookmarks, to be released spring 2007 on Compass Records, is colored with the nostalgia-inducing twang of the pedal steel, driven by the harmonica’s gutsy tones and filled with weathered yet inspiring melodies delivered in Hart’s tremulous and timeless voice. The first track, “The Life & Times of Joseph Rowe” is a tune of resignation, sustained by the harmonica-filled “She Is All I Need.” Kris Kristofferson and former Fairground Attraction vocalist Eddi Reader join Hart’s rich vocal timbre on the surefire hit “My Greatest Success,” an unabashedly naked confessional, bristling with truth. On “Suffocate,” Hart dips in and out of falsetto while delivering the lines “rip it up and tear it down/burn it to the ground/do you suffocate when you hold me/do you live for the day that I leave,” marking the song as one of the albums gems, and drawing comparisons to Ryan Adams. The final track, fittingly titled “Journey’s End,” echoes the first song, and helps to tie together the record’s prevailing theme of loss, renewal, and loss again, closing an album of memorable songs, stunning collaborations, and moments of rare musical beauty.

Roddy Hart currently resides in Glasgow, Scotland and is planning a tour of the US later this year once he completes a UK tour in support of Kris Kristofferson.

“A guitar god in the US, Simpson has been blending folk and country blues for four decades. Danny Thompson and Radiohead’s Philip Selway are among his helpers on this tasty mix of trad and original material.” – Q Magazine

“A very different animal to Prodigal Son, but in its own way, equally formidable. He sweeps from down’n’dirty to tender reflection in the blink of an eye.” – MOJO

“Martin Simpson returns with an album that confidently walks a tightrope over the gulf between tradition and contemporary songwriting—this is folk at its finest.” – Sunday Mercury

“His performances elicit powerful emotions and subtle, understated beauty.” – Guitar Player Magazine

English folk singer and guitarist Martin Simpson’s last album Prodigal Son was a universally acclaimed, career high for the five time BBC Folk Award winner. His follow up release True Stories is even better. The album features some of England’s finest musicians including bass legend Danny Thompson, Radiohead drummer Philip Selway, pedal steel legend BJ Cole, Bellowhead frontman Jon Boden and many others. The tracks are evenly split between traditional tunes and Martin’s original compositions. Add this to the superb guitar work and vocals from Simpson and you have yet another exceptional disc from this most celebrated British folk icon.

Like the best musicians, Martin Simpson deploys a control of pace and dynamics to his playing that touches the heart, regardless of whether the listener has a bit of Lincolnshire, Mississippi or Ganges beneath their manicured or careworn nails. Martin’s career has included collaborations on stage and in the studio with Kelly Joe Phelps, Danu, Cara Dillon, David Lindley, Dick Gaughan and David Hidalgo (of Los Lobos). He’s a regular nominee at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and was named Musician Of The Year in both 2002 and 2004 and won both Best Original Song for “Never Any Good” and Best Album for Prodigal Son in 2008.

For nearly a decade, Wolfstone’s music has brought its Highland spirit and youthful exuberance to the soul of Scottish tradition. What began as a traditional dance band has evolved into a Celtic rock extravaganza, crossing musical, cultural and age boundaries and winning fans around the world.

Fiddler Duncan Chisholm and guitarist Stuart Eaglesham first met in the late 1980s at a pub session in Inverness, Scotland, and formed a band for ceilidhs (Scottish dances). In 1989, they performed at the Highland Traditional Music Festival in Dingwall, fusing drums and bass with keyboards, pipes, guitar and fiddle. The combination was a hit. They were soon offered local gigs that expanded into tours up and down the length and breadth of the Highlands and the Islands.

Within two years, Wolfstone recorded its first album, Unleashed (GLCD3093), produced by Silly Wizard accordion virtuoso Phil Cunningham. During this time, the band was offered a support slot for the popular Scottish crossover group Runrig at Loch Lomond near Glasgow. The exposure and experience of playing for such a large audience catapulted them into a new circuit. They began playing larger venues and festivals, not only in the UK, but also increasingly in Europe, North America and Canada.

The follow-up album The Chase (GLCD3088) built upon their success and brought new members to their line-up. In 1992, drummer Mop Youngson, from Aberdeen and bassist Wayne Mackenzie, from Inverness, joined the pack. The thrill of the Highland bagpipes was added with piper Alan Wilson, later succeeded by the talented Stevie Saint from Pitlochry. In the meantime, Unleashed and The Chase went silver and gold, respectively, in Scotland.

In 1993, Wolfstone signed with Green Linnet Records and released Year of the Dog (GLCD1145) , marking their third collaboration with Phil Cunningham. They began a hectic touring schedule on both sides of the Atlantic, thrilling crowds at festivals and concert halls with their high-energy performances. Highlights included appearances at such major American festivals as Telluride, Strawberry, the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Milwaukee Irish Festival, and in Europe at Tönder (Denmark), L’orient (France), and Cambridge (England).

As their recognition increased, so did the demand for their presence, until they spent more time on the road than they did at home. After recording The Half Tail (GLCD1172) in 1995, keyboardist Stuart Eaglesham departed the band for a quieter life, and Youngson followed suit. The remaining Wolfstone members took this opportunity to limit their appearances to festivals and take a new direction with their music. In the meantime, a best-selling compilation Pick of the Litter (GLCD1180) was released in 1997.

In early 1998, Green Linnet released This Strange Place (GLCD1188) , an album featuring the accomplished acoustic guitarwork and introspective songs of Ivan Drever. Co-produced by Drever and Wayne Mackenzie, the recording represented a departure from their previous work and offered proof of the band’s versatility.

Since then, keyboardist Andy Simmers and drummer Tony Soave have stepped in, and Ivan Drever has moved on to pursue other projects. Stuart Eaglesham now leads the pack as vocalist, as well as penning four cuts on the group’s latest outing, Seven (GLCD1198). A diverse mix of Celtic pop and folk with a touch of rock & roll, the album marks new territory for the band. With a two year break from heavy touring, the sextet is charged with renewed energy, and looks forward to electrifying audiences around the world again in the coming months.

Band Members

• Stuart Eaglesham (lead vocals, guitar)
• Duncan Chisholm (fiddle, backing vocals)
• Wayne Mackenzie (bass, backing vocals)
• Stevie Saint (pipes, whistles)
• Andy Simmers (keyboards)
• Tony Soave (drums)

Kate Campbell has been described as one of the most literate songwriters in music today. She embraces many styles in her writing: folk, contemporary acoustic, rock, alternative country, and touches of soul and blues. CD Review wrote “(Kate Campbell) is an important voice that brings literary focus — devoid of pretension — to music that bridges the gap between country and folk”, Campbell has found a musical home in her writing that falls somewhere between Memphis and Muscle Shoals. Still moved by the experiences that shaped her as a child growing up in the South, Campbell’s music has grown to encompass every aspect of the human experience, connecting with all those who hear it and gaining her a large circle of admirers in the U.S. and around the globe.

On Rosaryville, her fourth release on Compass, Campbell reflects on the pursuit of art and devotion in everyday life. With a deep respect for where she came from, Campbell says, “Something told me I had to make sense of how I was connected to the world I came from before I could go on to connect to the world at large.” On Rosaryville, Campbell has found that worldly connection on such songs as Rosa’s Coronas where she writes about the dignity and devotion of a woman who rolls cigars for a living in Cuba. “The woman thinks about her daughter and grand-daughter who have fled their native country for America while the lector in her factory reads to her about the violence happening there.” Campbell contemplates the mysteries of life in New Orleans on the song Porcelain Blue and reflects on the changing relationships between mothers and daughters on In My Mother’s House. The album represents Campbell’s first time out as producer and features the legendary Spooner Oldham. “I’m interested in the fact that different places have their own unique traits and that the people who live there share them.”

Songs From the Levee, Campbell’s highly acclaimed debut, earned her features on Prime Time Country and NPR’s All Things Considered. In 1995, Farm Journal, the nation’s premier and most widely circulated agricultural magazine, presented her with the prestigious Farm Song of the Year award for “Bury Me in Bluegrass”. The same year, Campbell was voted Best New Artist by the listeners of Boston’s WUMB Radio, and received an Indie Award nomination for Best Singer/Songwriter from the Association for Independent Music (AFIM).

On her second solo outing Moonpie Dreams, Campbell continued to evoke a strong sense of place and timeby creating vibrantly alive characters. Moonpie Dreams received a Nashville Music Award nomination for Folk Album of the Year, was voted Country Album of the Year by MOJO Magazine, and was featured in the now legendary and critically acclaimed Southern Music Issue of the Oxford American. Both Songs from the Levee and Moonpie Dreams climbed into the Top Five.

On Visions of Plenty, Cambell’s third release, she talked about the changing Southern landscape and included themes of land, race and religion. The album was nominated for a Nashville Music Award and featured guests Emmylou Harris, Anthony Crawford, Bo Ramsey, Kevin Gordon and Spooner Oldham. It touched on such subjects as school bussing and integration (Bus 109), the civil rights movement in the turbulent 60’s (Crazy in Alabama), economic disparity (Visions of Plenty), the declining steel industry and its environmental aftermath (Deep Tang), the commercialization of religion (Jesus and Tomatoes), as well as grief and loss (Sing Me Out). The album was highly acclaimed and American Songwriter said, “this Cd is a celebration of Campbell’s unique vision”.

Campbell also saw success as a songwriter when The Nashville Bluegrass Band included her haunting song, Signs Following on their 1998 Grammy nominated album, American Beauty. Galaxy 500 was featured on NPR’s Car Talk and she was a featured songwriter in the book, Solo, along with Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, Jewel and others.

Rosaryville is an album that is destined to catapult Kate Campbell into the realm of great Southern writers. “I’m going to write songs no matter what. Whether I’m making records or not. It doesn’t matter whether the people who listen are from Mississippi or that they’ve even seen Mississippi. I’ve had people in England who say, “I’ve never been to Mississipi but I know what it’s like from your songs. When I get that kind of response, I’m completely gratified. That’s what art and humanity is all about — making that connection.”

Nuala Kennedy is a celebrated traditional Irish musician and internationally acclaimed flute player and singer. Touted as “spellbinding” and “a delight,” by the Irish Times, her live performances over the last few years inspired her return to the studio to record Noble Stranger (Compass, avail Aug. 28), a road-tested collection of innovative originals and traditional songs recorded with her touring band. Kennedy uses her traditional music background as a springboard for the new album which offers a 12 song set on which her adventurous instrumentation and progressive instrumentation shine. 

Noble Stranger was recorded over a week in the beautiful rolling hills near Biggar, a little town nestled between Edinburgh and Glasgow by Kennedy, her percussionist Donald Hay, 10-string mandolinist Iain Macleod, guitarist Mike Bryan and guest vocalist AJ Roach. Their stage camaraderie translated seamlessly to the studio and this third album is a natural byproduct of their energetic and spontaneous live shows. “The tracks were laid down live, all together, with generally sparse overdubs. The band has been touring together for so long that there’s no other way I could imagine having made Noble Stranger,” comments Kennedy. “The whole album is a real reflection of our live sound.”

Accompanied by the spirited interplay between Bryan’s guitar and Macleod’s mandolin and supported by the tasteful percussion of Hays, tracks on the album intimately connect Kennedy’s own interests in traditional music and her neo-folk composition style. “Spending time in America has given me a greater appreciation of my own traditional musical heritage, and this renewed appreciation is reflected in the choices of some of the older material on the album. Classic traditional songs such as “My Bonny Labouring Boy” and the bonus track “Matt Hyland” are songs I have known for a long time and they seemed to re-emerge as a natural part of this record.” Not all is tradition here, a vintage Casio keyboard given to Kennedy by Norman Blake of the Glasgow band Teenage Fanclub inspired several album tracks, including the light and groovy album opening “Gabriel Sings.” “I was immediately drawn to the simplicity and transportability of the instrument and it strongly influenced the direction of the arrangements.”

Kennedy has recently been calling New York City a home-away-from-home, absorbing and contributing to the City’s growing neo-folk scene. She was raised playing and singing traditional music on the East coast of Ireland – an artistic area steeped in mythology with long historical ties to Scotland. Captivated by the traditional Irish and Scottish repertoire, she went on to study at the Edinburgh College of Art, mentored under fellow Irish expatriate Cathal McConnell and formed her first trio with guitarist Kris Drever and fiddler Anna-Wendy Stevenson and released two critically acclaimed albums. Her first two solo albums, The New Shoes and Tune In, were released through Nashville-based roots music company Compass Records Group and were universally well received. She has performed and recorded with Will Oldham (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy), Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), Norwegian musicians Frode Haltli and Vegar Vårdal as well as the late Canadian composer Oliver Schroer. Kennedy is also a member of the traditional music group Oirialla performing music of her native North-East area of Ireland alongside Gerry ‘fiddle’ O’ Connor and Martin Quinn and she holds a Masters Degree in Music Performance and Composition from Newcastle University.

“Noble Stranger, you have ventured to me from the land of your fathers,” sings Kennedy on Noble Stranger‘s final track “Napoleon’s Dream,” a sentiment that reflects the underlying theme of the album. In joining the burgeoning New York folk music scene, she has also imported her distinct virtuosity and strong sense of traditional Irish identity—an identity that, inspired by her many influences, continues to evolve and define new boundaries for her tradition.

“Jeremy Kittel has already established himself as a world class fiddler.” – SingOut!

“Jeremy is just too damn young to play as well as he does.” – Fiddler Magazine

“We’d call him a rising star, but he’s clearly already risen.” – Detroit Free Press

Jeremy Kittel is at the forefront of a new breed of fiddlers and violinists who easily navigate between a multitude of musical styles and traditions. Fluidly mastering this rich musical heritage, he also breaks exciting new ground while helping to redefine the role of his instrument.

Currently touring internationally with his name-sake group, the Jeremy Kittel Band, he leads audiences into exciting new-acoustic music territory.  He also maintains an active schedule of collaborations with some of today’s most innovative and influential artists, from genres diverse as folk, jazz, classical, and pop music. Recently completing a five-year position as a full-time member of the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, he has also toured and recorded with such musical giants as Mark O’Connor, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Paquito D’Rivera, the Assad Brothers, Stefon Harris, My Morning Jacket, Jars of Clay, Abigail Washburn, and Ben Sollee. He has appeared on the NPR radio show A Prairie Home Companion, has been a guest performer with multiple symphony orchestras, and has performed at venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Bonnaroo, and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

His most recent solo recording, Chasing Sparks (Compass Records), clearly establishes Jeremy as a formidable composer and arranger as well as a violinist of the highest technical and musical sensibilities. This comes as no surprise given that his three previously released CDs span the musical spectrum from jazz to celtic, with a strong dose of originality and technical mastery.

One of the leading improvising violinists of his generation, Jeremy has a master’s degree in jazz violin from the Manhattan School of Music, and he is the recipient of the 2010 Emerging Artist Award from his alma mater, the University of Michigan. He is also a National US Scottish Fiddle champion as well as a multiple winner of Detroit Music Awards and ASTA Alternative Style awards.

As a lover of song, and as a singer himself, Kittel enjoys collaborating with singers and lyricists from any genre. Most recently, he has arranged and recorded orchestral-style strings for several major-label releases: Abigail Washburn’s “City of Refuge,” My Morning Jacket’s “Circuital,” and an upcoming release by the Platinum-selling, Grammy-winning band Jars of Clay.

Kittel currently resides in beautiful Brooklyn, NY. When he’s not on tour, he often enjoys Monkey Conditioning and Ecstatic Dance.