| · Straight-ahead neo-jazz boogie.
It must mean something to nab a 2004 Juno Contemporary Jazz Album nomination, but the truth is Toronto boogie meister Michael Kaeshammer hasn’t musically matured to the point where he can do much more than fast-loud-fast-loud. Granted Kaeshammer is still in his early-20s and has come a long way since his 1996 release Blue Keys, but it’s about time he moved on.
Strut comes close to breaking the bonds of Kaeshammer’s boogie blues regime. Thanks to returning heavyweight drummer Johnny Vidacovich, guitarist Kevin Breit and the presence of exceptional upright bass man Ben Wolfe, Strut narrowly steps away from the brink of redundancy. There’s only so many times one can hear a boogie piano bass line slammed out at full throttle. To be fair, there are some surprising ventures into the experimental side of things. "Now" features some funky prepared piano percussion à la John Cage and "Soundtrack to Something Beautiful" has some downright sleazy guitar work by Breit. If only Kaeshammer would embrace the diversity that he dabbles in and let go of the boogie.
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