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July 31 Accipter Radar & Flett Beccario Present Michael Kaeshammer |
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Michael Kaeshammer doesn’t simply wow you with his chops; he invites you in and talks to you. Yes, he’s a gifted singer and songwriter, a highly trained technician and interpreter and an incendiary piano player. But also, on stage and off, he’s a consummate host. Kaeshammer has an uncanny ability to take ‘a bit of musical this’ and ‘a touch of musical that’ and create a sound that is uniquely his own – A singular brand of pop tinged jazz that owes as much to Billy Joel and Paul McCartney as to Professor Longhair and Albert Ammons on hook laden love songs like ‘A Little Bit Of Love. But while Kaeshammer’s fiery style incorporates elements of his early influences – the New Orleans sound of Fats Waller, Art Tatum and James Booker – on tracks like ‘Kisses In Zanzibar’ and the high-energy, boogie fuelled romp, ‘Rendezvous’, he also takes his cue from one of his own all-time favourite records, Robert Palmer’s Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley, recorded in New Orleans with influential local funk outfit, The Meters, in 1974. In short, it’s the musical equivalent of Gumbo. When Michael steps on stage he’ll greet you warmly, as an honoured guest. He’ll play a song like ‘Rendezvous’. A comfortable start, to showcase his fiery piano chops and make you feel at home – The equivalent of taking your coat and hat and showing you around the place. On stage and on record it’s all about drawing the audience in. That’s where the joy is, pure and simple. And while joy is something Michael Kaeshammer has never had difficulty expressing, on KAESHAMMER, his third record on Alert Music, the German born, Canadian bred pianist expresses it more enthusiastically than ever.
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