Michael Kaeshammer - Days Like These (2007)

When Harry Connick, Jr. was in the early days of his career, every release seemed full of hunger, like a wound-up horse out of the gate desperate to bolt into competition and win the race. Canadian singer-pianist Michael Kaeshammer's fifth CD, Days Like These, contains that same abundance of sass and passion, evident immediately on the blistering self-penned opening track "Cinnamon Sun." In fact, almost half of the disc is written by Kaeshammer; for the most part, his tracks are soft bayou-tinged soul with funky overtones, from his New Orleans-affected title track to the gospel-driven "I Left a Note." His creations are not all upbeat and glee, however: the self-penned "Two Far Down" is an intensely dark, lyrical number (including the lines "I like living this life/I'm telling my gun") while "Free Of Love" is a samba-meets-soul ode to a broken heart wishing to never love again. The intrigue continues when things slow down considerably: Kaeshammer's poignant delivery of Nina Simone's "If You Knew," as well as "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (made famous by Roberta Flack), both have significant staying power, the latter track additionally memorable because of the rich co-vocals provided by respected Canadian jazz singer Dione Taylor. In fact, the collective strength of each of Kaeshammer's players is very much a part of why Days Like These is so strong, likely to attract both jazz purists and adult contemporary music fans alike. --Denise Sheppard