Album: Strut
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 »Continue reading...
| Year of Release | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Jazz/Instrumental |
| Label | Alert Records Inc. |
| Artists | Michael Kaeshammer (Germany)
|
| Producers |
Peter Cardinali |
| Tracks |
Almost a Rag (2003) At the Vinyl Café (2003) Bass Gone Crazy (2003) Blue Skies (2003) Maybe Tomorrow (2003) Now? (2003) Sleepy Time (2003) Soundtrack to Something Beautiful (2003) Sunny Morning (2003) Twenty Something (2003) You're a Good Dancer, Johnny! (2003) |
| Date Entered | Sep 18, 2007 12:09:53 |
| Date Last Modified | Jan 30, 2010 10:01:00 |
| Album Details | 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 Sunday 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 Cafe, 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. |
| Notes | Personnel: Alfio Annibalini - Assistant; David Banigan - Interactive Design; Brian Barlow - Percussion, Marimba, Vibraphone; Kevin Breit - Guitar; Peter Cardinali - Arranger; Jason Darbyson - Design; Michael Dunston - Tambourine; John "Woog" Johnson - Clarinet, Flute, Clarinet (Bass), Flue (Alto), Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor); Michael Kaeshammer - Piano, Arranger, Vocals, Fender, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Prepared Piano; Greg Kolchinsky -Assistant; Andrew MacNaughtan - Photography; Peter J. Moore - Mastering; Denis Tougas - Engineer, Digital Editing; Johnny Vidacovich - Drums; Jeff Wolpert - Mixing; Kenneth Young - Illustrations, Video Images, Animation, Rendering // Two tracks omitted due to vocals - "Comes Love" by Lew Brown, Sam H. Stept and Charles Tobias; "Cry To Me" by Patrick Michael Landreville |