Fiddles on Friday XI

Todays fiddler is awardwinning Jeremy Kittel

Kittel was born in Michigan, where he grew up alternating between classical training and various fiddle camps and music festivals, experiences he sees as more than just inspirational. “There’s such an honesty in those places,” he says, “an honesty in everyone’s love for music. And there’s a real lack of ego, more than I’ve experienced in any environment I’ve been in. It’s an amazing scene to be a part of.” Those fiddle festivals influenced his music style of course and the proof is in the pudding so let's listen to "Remember Blake" from his latest album "Chasing Sparks"

As you can hear, Jeremy is one of the foremost among a new breed of fiddlers and violinists who easily navigate a multitude of musical styles and traditions. Some of his recent exploits include: performing as a world-class jazz improviser in the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet; leading his namesake group, the Jeremy Kittel Band, co-arranging and recording strings for rock band My Morning Jacket‘s latest record, performing at Bonnaroo & Telluride Bluegrass Festival with singer-songwriter Abigail Washburn; and teaching internationally as one of the world’s leading Scots-Irish fiddlers. Here we can see him at work with his own band

And here's the song "Disconnect" also from his album "Chasing sparks", enjoy and have a nice weekend!

Warm Wednesday III

Today we have a duo that caused me a lot of goosebumps the first time I heard them. "The Milk Carton Kids"

This is a perfect candidate for the warm wednesday issue. The Milk Carton Kids (after the missing kids portraits printed on milk cartons)are Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan from Los Angeles, California (warmth enough there). They were formed in early 2011 and almost imediatly caused a buzz in the folk scene and picked up by the NPR (National Public radio). That's were I heard them first at the 15 minute Tiny desk concerts performing their songs "Michigan" (my favourite) "Stealing Romance" and "I Still Want A Little More". The interweaving of their voices and guitars is done delicate and they harmonize perfectly. The songs (mostly ballads)with a country twist are very easy and comfortable, perfect for long drives through boring landscapes. Style? Think the offspring of Simon and Garfunkel made love with Emmylou Harris with Jayhawks on the radio. (sorry for this image). Did I mention you can download their Ep's, "Prologue" and "Retrospect" for free at their site?