Michael Kaeshammer (born 7 January 1977) is a Canadian jazz and boogie-woogie pianist.

Early life and education

Kaeshammer grew up in Offenburg, Germany, where he studied classical piano for seven years. At age thirteen, he became interested in

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...

and

stride piano Stride jazz piano, often shortened to stride, is a jazz piano style that arose from ragtime players. Prominent stride pianists include James P. Johnson, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Willie "the Lion" Smith, Fats Waller, Luckey Roberts, Mrs Mills a ...

as played by

Albert Ammons Albert Clifton Ammons (March 1, 1907 – December 2, 1949) was an American pianist and player of boogie-woogie, a blues style popular from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s. Life and career Ammons was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were pi ...

Meade Lux Lewis Anderson Meade Lewis (September 4, 1905 – June 7, 1964), known as Meade Lux Lewis, was an American pianist and composer, remembered for his playing in the boogie-woogie style. His best-known work, "Honky Tonk Train Blues", has been recorded by ...

, and Pete Johnson.

Careers

As a teenager, Kaeshammer playing jazz and boogie-woogie in clubs, concerts and festivals around Germany and other surrounding parts of Europe. After he moved with his family to the west coast of Canada, Kaeshammer began performing at festivals across the country during the summer of 1996. That year his first album, 'Blue Keys', was released. A second album, ''Tell You How I Feel'' came out in 1998, and two-year later ''No Strings Attached''. Kaeshammer has been the opening act for

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

Colin James Colin James (born Colin James Munn, August 17, 1964) is a Canadian rock and blues singer and songwriter. Biography Early years James was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His grandpa was Serbian. He got his break opening for Stevie Ray V ...

The Blind Boys of Alabama The Blind Boys of Alabama, also billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, is an American gospel group. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama, and has featured a changing roster ...

, and

Holly Cole Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio. Background Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a noted radio broadcaster ...

. He has conducted a number of multi-city tours through The People's Republic of China. He performed at Canada Day celebrations in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

London, United Kingdom London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In the US he has appeared multiple times as a featured performer on the Queen City Blues Fest's ''Arches Piano Stage'' in Cincinnati, OH. In 2003, Kaeshammer released the album ''Strut''; the next year he performed a solo on ''Jazz Sessions'', which was broadcast on Bravo! Television. In 2005 he went on a concert tour throughout Canada. Kaeshammer performed at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

in Torino, Italy, the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing, China, and at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Meanwhile, two more albums, ''Days Like These'' (2007), ''Lovelight'' (2009), were released. Kaeshammer continued to record, releasing a self-titled album in 2011, ''KaeshammerLIVE!'' (2012), ''With You in Mind'' (2013), and an instrumental album, ''The Pianist'' in 2015. Kaeshammer has been nominated for seven Juno Awards. He has also received the West Coast Music Award for Musician of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. His 2016 album ''No Filter'' is a mixture of jazz, blues and boogie-woogie. In 2016 he performed at the

Maple Blues Awards The Maple Blues Awards are Canada’s blues awards, "honouring the finest in Canadian blues". They are the only comprehensive national best in blues awards program. The program's goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outs ...

in Toronto. He has also hosted the Canadian National Jazz Awards.

Discography

* ''No Strings Attached'' (Alma, 2001) * ''Tell You How I Feel'' (Alma, 2001) * ''Blue Keys'' (Festival, 2004) * ''Strut'' (Alma, 2004) * ''Days Like These'' ( Alert, 2007) * ''Lovelight'' (Alert, 2009) * ''Kaeshammer'' (Alert, 2011) * ''Kaeshammer Live!'' (Alert, 2012) * ''With You in Mind'' (Idla, 2013) * ''No Filter'' (Idla, 2017) * ''Pianist'' (Idla, 2017) * ''Something New'' (Linus, 2018)

Awards and recognition

2001 JUNO Award (Nominated) - Best Contemporary Jazz Album - Instrumental, for ''No Strings Attached'' 2004 JUNO Award (Nominated) - Best Contemporary Jazz Album - Instrumental, for ''Strut'' 2008 JUNO Award (Winner) - Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, for ''Days Like These'' 2010 JUNO Award (Nominated) - Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, for ''Lovelight'' 2013 JUNO Award (Nominated) - Music DVD of the Year, for ''Kaeshammerlive!'' 2018 JUNO Award (Nominated) - Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, for ''No Filter''

References

External links

Official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaeshammer, Michael Stride pianists Boogie-woogie pianists Canadian blues singers Canadian jazz pianists Canadian jazz singers German expatriates in Canada People from Offenburg 1977 births Living people Canadian male pianists 21st-century Canadian pianists 21st-century Canadian male singers Canadian male jazz musicians