Westbound Situation blends the precision of classical chamber music, the rhythmic drive of bluegrass, and the colorful expression of jazz into a new style of chamber music—chambergrass. The quartet—comprised of Grant Flick on violin, Jake Howard on mandolin, Zach Brown on cello, and Jacob Warren on bass—mixes composition and improvisation seamlessly into their entirely memorized arrangements.
The group formed out of the 2016 Acoustic Music Seminar (AMS), a program run by multi-instrumentalist Mike Marshall. The program accepts 16 talented string players under the age of 22 from around the world to participate in a week of intense improvisation, composition and performance training. All four were two time participants, an honor that not everyone is able to receive.
Westbound Situation has a strong commitment to music education. The group’s combined experience in classical, bluegrass, jazz, and original/improvised music is something not typically offered in the standard curriculum found at most schools and colleges (at least not all at the same time). These styles, among others, give each student the chance to make their own music, and through this process valuable lessons in creativity, listening, and leadership are achieved. Each member of the group maintains a private studio, and all have been invited to provide workshops and masterclasses at schools and festivals across the country.
Westbound Situation’s exciting and diverse concerts feature a set of unique original repertoire colored with recognizable standards from many genres. With bluegrass, classical chamber music, and jazz all coming together in the group’s concept of chambergrass, a Westbound Situation concert is dazzling musical journey not soon forgotten.
Warren & Flick creates music that feels both grounded and adventurous—rooted in tradition yet unafraid to explore. With Jacob Warren on double bass and tenor bass, and Grant Flick on violin, tenor guitar, and nyckelharpa, the duo crafts a compelling sound that blends original composition and improvisation with classical, jazz, and folk traditions. Jacob and Grant met in 2015 at the Acoustic Music Seminar, a former program of the Savannah Music Festival led by multi-instrumentalist Mike Marshall. Designed for young string players from around the world, AMS sparked a musical partnership that’s grown into a deeply collaborative friendship.
Warren & Flick’s music reflects their wide-ranging influences and shared curiosity. They spend much of their time composing, arranging, and performing together—crafting pieces that balance clarity and complexity, familiarity and surprise. Their debut album, Kestrel (2019), introduced their sound; Waxwing (2022) marked a leap forward, showing deeper ensemble interplay and a willingness to blur stylistic lines. Their newest record, Cormorant (2025), captures a further evolution—brimming with sonic color, inventive textures, and a continued spirit of curiosity.
In addition to performing and recording, Warren & Flick are committed to sharing their music in ways that invite others in. They publish sheet music for many of their original compositions, including fully arranged pieces and a tune book containing lead sheets of many pieces from their albums. These resources make their repertoire accessible to other musicians and reflect the duo’s belief in music as a collaborative, living tradition.
As educators, Warren & Flick lead workshops and clinics that encourage young musicians to find their own voices through improvisation, ear training, and acoustic traditions not often emphasized in traditional school music programs. As they put it:
“Through the wide spectrum of acoustic music, our goal is to inspire, educate, and make meaningful connections with students through music. As perpetual students ourselves, we strive to share the multitude we have learned through our experiences in standard curriculums, the lessons we have learned working outside of those curriculums, and how both perspectives provide valuable lessons in creativity, listening, and leadership.”
Both Jacob and Grant are graduates of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. In 2023, Jacob won first prize in the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition, and in 2025, Warren & Flick were invited to headline the ISB Convention in Tallahassee, Florida. The duo was also a finalist in the 2024 Concert Artists Guild Competition.
“Some of the most engaging people I’ve ever worked with have a clear vision while still being willing to explore—following, with a rare openness, the creative energy.” — Jeremy Kittel
That ethos is central to the new release, Whorls, from Kittel & Co. The album’s title refers to patterns of spirals, an apt metaphor for the undulation between the outsize skills and free-spirited instincts that drive its sound. A dazzlingly original work, Whorls inhabits the space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, folk and jazz sensibilities.
Previously of the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, Kittel demonstrated similar scope as a composer-arranger- collaborator for such diverse artists as My Morning Jacket, Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble, and Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn. But for the last few years, the Brooklyn-based artist has been diligently building his own repertoire of music for a wholly original new group.
Kittel & Co. includes mandolin phenom Josh Pinkham (named “the future of the mandolin” by Mandolin Magazine), genre-bending guitarist Quinn Bachand (a presidential scholar at Berklee College of Music), transcendent bassist Jacob Warren, and hammer-dulcimer wizard Simon Chrisman (acclaimed for bringing a new tonal flexibility to the instrument). “We met gradually over the years, through festivals, shows, gatherings,” Kittel says. “Each really struck me with their uniqueness, for being a singular force on their instrument.”