Outstanding Michigan Celtic-jazz-bluegrass fiddle wiz Jeremy Kittel
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To anyone considering hiring Jeremy Kittel as an entertainer... Just do it.
Just let him walk onto the stage with his fiddle tucked under his arm. Let him play a few licks, and then sit back and enjoy the show. Your audience will be spell-bound.
Have no doubts about his ability to entertain. Have no fear that your audience won't enjoy his music.
--Jamie Smith, Special Events, City of Rochester Hills
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Jeremy Kittel made his orchestral debut on our pops season show, A Celtic Celebration. Playing his own compositions, arranged by Jeff Tyzik, Jeremy captivated audiences and brought them to their feet over and over. His virtuosic skill and sensitive playing were truly magnificent. He made such an impression after that performance that I re-engaged Jeremy, this time with his jazz quintet. Equally skilled as a jazz musician, Jeremy once again delivered a memorable performance. Jeremy is a remarkable talent!
- Kendra Whitlock, Director of Pops and Specials
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
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Regrettably, it is not yet possible to praise fiddler/violinist Jeremy Kittel without remarking upon his age. That time will come, because his playing more than deserves attention on its own merits. But for now, part of the story of Kittel is that the 2000 U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, who the following year was a tremendous hit on NPR's Prairie Home Companion and in 2003 already has won the ASTA Alternative Strings Albert Award for Best Improvisation and the International Association for Jazz Education Award for Best Jazz Performance - just recently turned 19 years old.
--The Times Argus, VT, 7/4/03
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It was the first standing ovation in Heritage Park, and you brought in the largest crowd (1000) ever!
--Nancy Coumoundouros, Cultural Arts Coordinator, Farmington Hills
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It's a much over-used cliché, but I really believe this is what genius sounds like. Highly recommended!
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The young Ann Arbor fiddler lit things up at last week's Detroit Music Awards, showing off the technically proficient but soulful Celtic folk that has already earned him a heap of honors -- including the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship. We'd call him a rising star, but he's clearly already risen.
--Detroit Free Press, 2004
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He can sit in with just about any group around; last October he held the crowd spellbound with just a few notes as he stepped on stage with the progressive Darol Anger Fiddle Ensemble. And now, he's beginning to cook various traditions into a distinctively personal brew. We welcome Jeremy Kittel back to the Ann Arbor Folk Festival because frankly, we can't wait to hear what the heck is next.
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He takes the listener into an almost spiritual foray that is all over the map in its unrestrained energetic quest for the perfect musical moment... his fingers floating effortlessly about the strings while the horsehair on the bow becomes shreds.
--PT Quinn, Current Magazine, December 2001
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Jeremy Kittel is one of those supernatural talents born to play their instrument...
--The Southern Illinoisian, 4/24/03
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The clear crowd favorite was fiddler Jeremy Kittel. It would have been enough if Kittel only played the Celtic jigs and airs for which he is becoming famous. Kittel and guitarist John Behling proceeded to astound the crowd with an intricate interpretation of Chick Corea's "Spain."
--Ross Field, Oceana Herald-Journal
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At last year's festival, Kittel brought the house down - one day after turning 18.
-- The Irish-American News, April 2003
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Jeremy is just too damn young to play as well as he does...
--Brendan Taaffe, Fiddler Magazine
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Jeremy Kittel is a serious musician by anyone's accounting. Though he comes from traditional roots, he can clearly manage any musical style he chooses to address - and not just adequately, but with great style and grace. The audience at the Hiawatha Festival was hypnotized and delighted by his performance. Jeremy Kittel has visited our town on two occasions, and I am sure we will invite him back again. --
Charles Ganzert, Hiawatha Festival Producer
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...played with a festive ferocity that almost set his bow on fire.
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The best attended concert of our season. Kalamazoo Folklife Organization recommends them as a wonderful addition to anyone's schedule of events for any venue.
--Pat Kube, K'zoo Folk Life
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Put Jeremy Kittel in a dark room in Ireland or Scotland, fill the place with Gaels, and tell him to play the Fair of Ballinasloc. You could probably get a few of the natives to bet their mortgages that they were listening to one of their own.
--Valley News, New Hampshire
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On a slow fiddle tune, glistening with ornaments, he's riveting. ...hearing Kittel play offers the listener that delightful experience of being in the audience as a young musician devours vast new swaths of musical territory.
--Ann Arbor Observer, June 2003
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and then there was Jeremy. What can I say about such a phenomenon? His youthful ardor, the brilliance with which the flame of his art burns, the goodness of heart and mind that he brings to his performance….
;
--David Gay, Director, Revels North
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The crowd cheered after every number, though some were overheard wishing that Kittel would play more Jazz, others hoping that he'd stick with traditional Celtic. My bias tells me that he should keep messing with genre blends, that it's most exciting when a musician takes risks and creates something new. But we should all just stand back and give Kittel time -- he's just 16 and obviously has a long life in music ahead of him.
--Mark Wedel, Kalamazoo Gazette, 4/2000
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Your superb playing and ease with the audience truly made your concert the best program we've ever held at the Library.
--Karin Boughey, Milford Township Library
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Kittel again took center stage with his fiddle, first playing a lovely slow air, then livening things up with sprightly jig and two reels of his own composition. Again, the crowd went ballistic.
--Valley News, NH, 12-21-02
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star fiddler Jeremy Kittel.... whose jaw-dropping duo performance in the recent local live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion brought down the house...
--Ann Arbor Observer, March 2003
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Celtic and jazz make a heady combination. This duo can do straight Celtic AND great jazz, but the fusion is explosive.
--Kathryn Morski, Delta Area Folk Traditions
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Look out for this young man in the future as a prominent name in both Celtic fiddling and jazz.
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Kittel is an amazing fiddler.
-- Strings Magazine, 2005
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