West Stockbridge — Violinist Jeremy Kittel, mandolinist Joshua Pinkham, and guitarist Quinn Bachand return to the West Stockbridge 1854 Town Hall on November 10 at 6:30 p.m. If you missed them a year ago when they sold out the same room, you may have better luck on Friday, November 10, but only if you reserve your seats (413-232-5055) before the show sells out.
Jeremy Kittel isn’t just one more conservatory-trained violinist with a degree in jazz performance, a U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship, and a career as composer, educator, and clinician. Come to think of it, no other fiddler, dead or alive, fits that description. Nor can we name any composer whose flirtations with far-flung musical traditions are more cleverly woven into the fabric of their music. (Aspiring composers should not attempt this at home unless they are highly accomplished instrumental improvisers.)
A good way to size up any band’s front man is to look carefully at the onstage company he keeps. What kinds of players does he attract and retain? In Kittel’s case the answer is: Joshua Pinkham, mandolin, and Quinn Bachand, guitar. Their musicianship is easily on par with Kittel’s, so their playing perfectly complements his. It comes as no surprise, then, that both men have their own following of devoted fans, and both are leaders of their own bands. Thus, these two “side men” effectively turn the Jeremy Kittel Trio into an all-star band, and if Kittel ever gets stuck in traffic on the way to an engagement, you can be sure these two guys will put on an impressive show all by themselves.
