Featuring Edgar Meyer (bass), Chris Thile (mandolin), Mike Marshall (mandolin), Kyle Sanna (guitar), Bodek Janke (drumset & percussion), Tristan Clarridge (cello), Brittany Haas (fiddle), Natalie Haas (cello), Tyler Duncan (bodhran), Andrew Kratzat (bass), Cali McKasson (piano), Nic Gareiss (foot percussion).
With the drive of Celtic fiddling, the spontaneity of jazz, the soul of bluegrass, the rhythms of Africa and Latin America, the layered melodies of Eastern Europe and the intricacies of chamber music, fiddler Jeremy Kittel consistently captivates audiences. On Chasing Sparks, Kittel, a US National Scottish Fiddle Champion and winner of six Detroit Music Awards, leads an exceptional band whose musical roots transverse the world. Members of the band include guitarist Kyle Sanna, World Music Award-winning percussionist Bodek Janke, bassist Andrew Kratzat and cellist Tristan Clarridge.
The centerpiece track of Chasing Sparks grew within the 25 year-old fiddler/violinist/composer for years before finally gelling on the stage of Carnegie Hall. Kittel had the “aha” moment while playing his song “Disconnect” with some of the most dominant players in acoustic music, including MacArthur “Genius”, bassist Edgar Meyer and guitarist Kyle Sanna, an arranger for Yo-Yo Ma. The track found further depth in the recording process with mandolin prodigy and former Nickel Creek member Chris Thile.
Throughout the album each track is woven with earthy, Celtic-inspired melodies, sometimes as a jumping-off point for intricate compositions, other times inducing heady improvisations. Still other times a simpler, more traditional feel is presented, but always, bounding above the expansive textures that pervade the album is the utterly searing optimism of Kittel’s violin.