With each new recording
the brilliant young pianist, Michael Kaeshammer, releases, he digs deeper
into the jazz tradition while carving out his own unique musical vision. On
his latest CD, Strut, Kaeshammer follows-up the New Orleans-inspired
No Strings Attached with an even deeper, funkier and more playful
exploration of the music’s roots.
Veteran Big Easy
drummer, Johnny Vidacovich, joined New Orleans legends Art Neville and Eddie
Bo on Kaeshammer’s last CD, and Vidacovich’s parade-inspired backbeat is at
the heart of Strut’s juicy, elastic groove. Bassist, Ben Wolfe, who
furthered his own New Orleans study in Harry Connick Jr.’s band before
joining Diana Krall’s group, helps Vidacovich cook-up a fiery, rhythmic
gumbo while backing Kaeshammer’s breathtaking keyboard pyrotechnics.
The trio, augmented by
guitarist Kevin Breit’s succinct, idiosyncratic contributions, produces an
eclectic collection of elegantly swinging performances. Michael adds a
whip-smart, soulful vocal reading to a rhythmically sophisticated version of
Comes Love and a Professor Longhair-inspired, bluesy vocal on Cry
To Me. It doesn’t hurt that Vidacovich played on the New Orleans
legend’s seminal recording of the tune when Johnny was a 17-year-old drum
prodigy. Three decades drumming in the Big Easy helps Vidacovich bury his
textural drumming so deep in the pocket that it inspires one of Michael’s
finest recorded vocals.
“We all went out to a
house on Stoney Lake just outside of Peterborough, Ontario,” Kaeshammer
explains. “We had a chef to take care of meals, and my producer Peter
Cardinali and engineer Denis Tougas set-up a studio in the house’s big, old
barn. Then we just went with the flow.”
“Going down to New
Orleans and recording with Johnny on the last record really influenced me,
but this session was even better. It was so warm and so much fun, a really
relaxed atmosphere that produced some very beautiful, soulful music. I’m
going to tour this record for the next couple of years, and I’m looking
forward to it. I really love playing this music.”
The new record includes
dramatically reinvented versions of Blue Skies, When It’s Sleepy
Time Down South, and Sunny Morning/Handful of Keys. On that
medley, Kaeshammer pushes his roots in ragtime and stride piano into a
singular, highly-personal style. On his Jellyroll Morton-inspired original,
Almost A Rag, the young pianist melds Jellyroll’s influence into a
Professor Longhair-like rumba backbeat to encapsulate the history and
essence of New Orleans piano in under four minutes.
At The Vinyl Café,
Now and Twentysomething are original
compositions that mutate Big Easy parade rhythms into grooves echoing Horace
Silver and Joe Zawinul’s post-bop funk. The talented pianist’s, You’re a
Good Dancer, Johnny and Maybe Tomorrow offer even deeper,
gospel-inspired melodies. Strut is a warm and wonderful collection of
performances by a young musician who gets better and better with every
recording.
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