No Filter (IDLA)
Michael Kaeshammer
Released September 16, 2016
Juno Award Nominee Vocal Jazz Album of the Year 2018
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m5QYIFHmLoc3HLlPKFciHOVJuh9f0eDnA
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1pQGjUE0OMkgStEAJIIERc?si=Alt8_bapSOuCYfOKlxNQXQ
About:
No Filter is the eleventh album from Michael Kaeshammer. This is the sound of an artist following his muse completely unhindered by thoughts of commercial imperatives or genre constraints.
The prolific Vancouver Island-based singer/songwriter/pianist/producer has earned a loyal international following as a triple threat. He’s a piano virtuoso with a technical mastery of many different styles, an eloquent singer/songwriter, and a charming and engaging performer.
On No Filter, Michael mixes his well-crafted and melodic original songs with a couple of evocative piano instrumentals, and the result is a delightfully varied collection.
Kaeshammer has completely come to terms with his eclectic taste in music, something showcased on the record. “The songs here are just things I wanted to write,” he explains. “If they sound as if they have been influenced by a lot of different things, then that is just the way it is. To me, it just sounds like my music.”
On No Filter, Michael takes the listener on a highly entertaining journey through refreshingly diverse musical terrain. It begins, fittingly enough, with “Letter From the Road,” a buoyant and upbeat romp with exuberant horns and Michael in top boogie-woogie form. “Nothing Seems To Reach You” has rich dynamics via the combination of horns, organ and backing vocals, and it also showcases Michael’s smooth and soulful voice.
“Everybody
Catches Love Sometime,” a co-write with James Bryan (Philosopher Kings), is a
tender treat featuring sweet lyrics and a sound boosted by Randy Bachman’s
typically fluent guitar work. Another highlight on an album devoid of lowlights
is “Late Night Train,” with Michael’s lyrical piano complementing the honeyed
voice of Denzal Sinclaire.
No Filter also features a couple of instrumentals, the jaunty “Westcoast
Spirit” and the mellow album closer, “Sunset.” “I felt the record needed a
breather at those points,” Michael explains.
Kaeshammer wrote these new songs at home, many on a grand piano he brought in for just this pupose. He arranged and recorded them in demo form, then had them fleshed out in the studio by his A-list touring band. That comprises bassist Devon Henderson, drummer Roger Travassos, trumpeter William Sperandei, tenor saxophonist Chris Gale, and trombonist William Carn.
The personal and
musical empathy of this group is certainly audible on No Filter. “When you have
a band that knows each other and really get along as people, the actual
recording process is an easy one,” says Michael.
The self-produced album was recorded over just two days at elite Toronto studio
Revolution Recordings. “Everything was live off the floor,” Kaeshammer recalls.
“I find preparation is the key for that, so everything was set in stone the way
I wrote and arranged it at home.”
Guest horn arrangers on the album are William Sperandei (“Talk To Me Baby”) and Juno-winning jazz luminary Phil Dwyer (“Letter From The Road,” “Nothing Seems To Reach You.”)
Some notable special guests also make valuable contributions to No Filter. Denzal Sinclaire adds vocals to “Late Night Train,” while Joel Parisien sings on “Sweet Grace,” a tune he co-wrote with Michael and Ron Lopata. Paul Pigat plays guitar on “Letter From The Road,” while Randy Bachman is featured on “Everybody Catches Love Sometime.”
Michael explains
that “Randy and I have been wanting to do something together. I sent that song
to him and asked if he could come in and play with the band on it, and it
really fits the song. With Denzal, I’m a friend and a huge fan. When ‘Late
Night Train’ came around, I thought it’d work perfectly for us to do together.”
No Filter showcases Michael Kaeshammer’s impressive evolution as a perceptive
and poetic lyricist. “To me, unless a song is an instrumental, it always starts
with the lyric. I begin in a stream of consciousness style, and then play
around with it. The song rather writes itself after you get started.’
Helping Michael fine-tune his lyrics is gifted Nashville songwriter John Goodwin (Brad Paisley, Jeff Bridges, Judy Collins). “I met John down there about ten years ago when I was there to write for a record, and he and I have kept up a friendship. When you see an interview with Leonard Cohen and everything comes out of his mouth is like poetry, well John is like that. I’ll send a song and ask him to tweak a line or two. He’ll re-word it or take something out and all of a sudden it is perfect!”
Kaeshammer notes that “I find it easier to write from the heart in my songs. If I’m writing on my own at home it is like therapy. You can say things in a song you couldn’t say out loud in the same way. When I write a song I don’t know if anyone will ever hear it, so there’s no filter on it.”
Michael is now eager to add some of the material from No Filter to his live set list. Touring is a major component of his career, and his well-honed skills as a performer have placed him in real demand, in Canada and beyond.
At home, he can headline such prestigious concert halls as Massey Hall and Koerner Hall in Toronto and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and he regularly performs in Europe. One welcoming new market that has opened up for him in recent years is China, and Michael is breaking new ground for jazz there.
“I’ve toured China five times now, after first playing there at Canada House during the Beijing Olympics, and I’ll return in October,” he explains. “I play six week tours covering 30 cities, some of which have never had live jazz, ever. I play in lovely 1,000- 2,000 seat theatres, sometimes solo, sometimes with my band. At least a third of the audience will be kids, from 5 year-olds to teenagers. Piano students who come with their parents.’ Kaeshammer is an excellent role model for young music students, as he first made his own mark as a young piano prodigy. Growing up in Offenburg, Germany, he studied classical piano for seven years prior to falling in love at 13 with the boogie-woogie and stride piano stylings.
Track Listing:
1. Letter From the Road (John Goodwin / Michael Kaeshammer) 03:03
2. Nothing Seems to Reach You (John Goodwin / Michael Kaeshammer) 03:28
3. Late Night Train (John Goodwin / Michael Kaeshammer) 03:48
4. Westcoast Spirit (Michael Kaeshammer) 02:15
5. Everybody Catches Love Sometime (James Bryan / Michael Kaeshammer) 05:04
6. Sweet Grace (Michael Kaeshammer / Ron Lopata / Joel Parisien) 03:50
7. Back Into the Pen (John Goodwin / Michael Kaeshammer) 03:14
8. Talk to Me, Baby (John Goodwin / Michael Kaeshammer) 03:24
9. Sunset (Michael Kaeshammer) 03:02
Personnel:
Michael Kaeshammer: vocals, grand piano, prepared piano, Fender Rhodes piano, shaker, tambourine, temple blocks, percussion
Chris Gale: tenor saxophone
William Sperandei: trumpet
William Carn: trombone
Devon Henderson: acoustic and electric bass
Roger Travassos: drums, congas, tambourine, cajon
Randy Bachman: guitar
Joby Baker: bass
Paul Pigat: guitar
Denzal Sinclaire: vocals
Recorded at Lands End and Revolution Studios
Engineer: Stew Crookes
Mixing: Joby Baker
Mastering: Greg Calbi
Photography: Don Dixon
Review:
When Michael Kaeshammer first broke on the scene in the 90s, he was a young boogie-woogie piano phenom. Since then, the British Columbia-based musician has added singing and songwriting to his arsenal of skills, and they’ve been honed over the last several years. All the songs on No Filter have been written or co-written by Kaeshammer (along with, primarily, Nashville-based songwriter John Goodwin) and many, such as the rousing opener Letter from the Road, stay true to his signature, exuberant New Orleans style. But there are other stylistic gems too. Late Night Train, is a poignant lament to a lost love made more gorgeous by the velvety vocals of guest singer, Denzal Sinclaire. Regret is the theme of the ballady/gospel-tinged Back into the Pen while West Coast Spirit is a sprightly little solo piano number that acts as a palate cleanser between meatier pieces. The production on the record is top-notch with the various keyboards, horns (William Sperandei, trumpet; Chris Gale, sax; William Carn, trombone) and percussion (Roger Travassos) subtly enriching the tracks and making No Filter a fine, satisfying listen from beginning to end.
Cathy Riches (The WholeNote)
