Originally from the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Jerome Kitzke has thought himself to be as much a storyteller as he is a composer. Some of his stories are about life’s personal roads, like The Redness of Blood and Sunflower Sutra which both express his love for his blood family. Many, however, like Haunted America and The Paha Sapa Give-Back are about the roads that go looking for what it means to be an American from the late 20th to the early 21st Century, especially as it relates to the connection between how we live on this land and the way we came to live on it. Kitzke’s music celebrates American Vitality in its purest forms. It thrives on the spirit of driving jazz, Plains Indian song, and Beat Generation poetry, where freedom and ritual converge. It is direct, dramatic, and visceral — always with an ear to the sacred ground.
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