Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Kittel & Co., Fiddlesticks Music/Compass Records 2018.
One of the standout acts at this year’s National Folk Festival was the American string quintet Kittel & Co. and Whorls is their debut release.
The band is fronted by acclaimed violinist Jeremy Kittel and he has assembled some of the best young acoustic musicians in the USA to help him realise his musical dream.
Each of them is a recognised master of their particular instrument.
Simon Chrisman has been credited with changing the way a new generation have approached the hammer dulcimer and Joshua Pinkham is considered the best mandolin player in the country.
Both Quinn Buchand (guitar) and Nathaniel Smith (cello and organ) have been equally praised for their extraordinary skills.
The album was co-produced by Kittel and Tyler Duncan and the pair avoided the temptation of over-producing the album.
The tracks were recorded live to capture the incredible chemistry within the ensemble.
Whorls is mostly an instrumental album. Only two of the 11 tracks contain vocals.
The band straddle the intersection of many varied music forms from classical to folk, from roots to jazz, and from bluegrass to baroque, and do it with such skill and panache that they make it all seem completely natural.
All the tracks on the album (with the exception of Preludio by Bach) have been written by Jeremy Kittel and he has produced a disc where the tracks run seamlessly together to produce what comes across as a larger more orchestral or classical work.
The music is intoxicating as the instruments blend together to produce a constant source of variation and change.
No one instrumental voice dominates as the emphasis is shifting from instrument to instrument, each bringing a new perspective and complexity to the work.
The two vocal tracks, Waltz (a duet with Sarah Jarosz) and Nethermead reveal that Jeremy Kittel possesses talents as a lyricist and also that he has a good singing voice.
I recommend this album to all the folkies out there.
