Christopher White wrote this review.
Michael Kaeshammer (pronounced case-hammer) is a young … 25 or so … German-Canadian piano player with what might be dubbed post-neo-retro trad jazz sensibilities. And exceptionally prodigious chops. A child prodigy, he studied classical piano in Offenburg, Germany, from age 6 to 13. That’s when he discovered boogie-woogie. He was playing professionally in European jazz clubs by 16. His growth, musically and professionally, has continued on this side of the Atlantic.
His first recording on Alma Records, Tell You How I Feel was released in 1998 when Kaeshammer was 19. It was a followup to his solo piano debut recording Blue Keys. Tell You How I Feel showcases Kaeshammer performing with a number of adept compatriots. Vito Rezza and Paul Keller on drums and bass respectively, provide a solid rhythmic bottom, the latter takes a wonderful solo on one of Kaeshammer’s originals, “I’ll Always Love You.” Everyone involved with the project is more than competent and Kaeshammer’s arrangements do not veer into the realm of ‘It’s all about me!’ but instead allow everyone to contribute. Guido Basso’s trumpet solo, for example, adds a nice touch to “Sunny Side of the Street” which also has some great charts arranged by Peter Cardinali for the entire horn section consisting of Phil Dwyer, tenor sax; Terry Pomerane and Laurie Bower, trombones; in addition to Basso. Paul Keller on guitar is the final member of the core ensemble. To be complete, there is a keyboard trio piece, “Same Old Blues”, with Joe Sealy on the second piano and Doug Riley on Hammond B3 organ and there are vocals by Carol Welsman on “Basin Street Blues” and Danny B. on “Sunny Side of the Street.”
Kaeshammer has a great left hand, as befits a boogie-woogie aficionado. And his right hand ain’t too shabby neither! Check out the other of his two originals on this disk, “Jivin’ with Dal,” to hear what he can do. He builds a fast and funky bottom, then begins to dance around with the melody above. Later he swaps, letting his left hand ‘solo’ while his right comps. All in all 
Tell You How I Feel would be impressive if it came from a twenty year veteran of jazz clubs, let alone a newcomer not yet 20 years old.
His second recording for Alma is an hour long, fourteen track CD entitled No Strings Attached. It includes ragtime (Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag”) boogie (Albert Ammons “Boogie Woogie Stomp”) bop (Thelonious Monk’s “I Mean You”) and R&B (Henry Glover’s “Drown in My Own Tears”). Where Tell You How I Feel only had two originals, half of the tracks on No Strings Attached are written by Kaeshammer. For the most part, they stand up to the company they keep; however, if I had to fault with Kaeshammer it would be that his originals are so much ‘in the tradition’ as to arguably lack a clearly personal stamp. I found myself checking titles and composer on his tunes, trying to place them.
Some of the musicians from Tell You How I Feel (e.g., Guido Basso and Vito Rezza) also make an appearance on No Strings Attached. There are many new names as well. I particularly like the handful of tunes Kaeshammer recorded in New Orleans with masters like Art Neville. There are too many to list them all individually, but Kaeshammer continues to successfully avoid the twin pitfalls of neither losing consistancy to the ‘cast of thousands’ effect nor of overly dominating the proceedings.
All in all, Kaeshammer is a musician to watch. He’s a technical wizard quite well versed in the idiom. If his compositions still reveal more about who he’s listened to rather than providing us with clearly individual new voice, so what? We shouldn’t expect everything all at once. His recordings would make bright additions to any jazzbo’s collection.
(Alma Records, 1998)
(Alma Records, 2000)
