Beat Kaestli

Beat Kaestli

Beat (pronounced bay-at) Kaestli is a Swiss vocalist, songwriter, arranger and producer residing in New York City. He moved to New York from his native home of Switzerland, where he was awarded a scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music. Nearly two decades have passed since Kaestli won a scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music and made a permanent move to New York. Following several years of supporting himself as a session singer, backing such dance artists as Barbara Tucker and Inaya Day and working alongside Linda Hopkins on the world tour of the Harlem Gospel Show, Kaestli made his recording debut in 2002 with Reasons a collection of R&B-infused, pop-jazz originals that earned him comparisons to such disparate headliners as George Michael and Maxwell.

Since 2002

While honing his craft alongside young Jazz note worthy’s like Jane Monheit, Stefon Harris and Jason Moran, Beat immersed himself in Manhattan’s fiercely competitive music scene, emerging as a seasoned performer. He now appears at renowned clubs such as Birdland, The Jazz Standard, B.B. King’s, 55 Bar and The BlueNote and in 2005, Beat was the chosen vocalist for the Glenn Miller Orchestra, thrilling audiences in concert halls across the USA. In 2006, Beat's second album, Happy, Sad, and Satisfied was released. Happy, Sad, and Satisfied garnered very positive reviews, even being named one of the top 25 CD's of 2006 by Indie-Music Magazine Kaestli returned to the classroom in 2007 when a scholarship from the Ella Fitzgerald Foundation provided him the opportunity to earn a Masters degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music. On 2009's multilingual Far From Home, Kaestli paid tribute to a spectrum of European songwriters , such as Michel Legrand and Kurt Weill. Far From Home also garnered positive reviews, prompting Jon Hendricks to praise Kaestli as “soulful [and] sensitive.”

Current

In 2010, Beat Keastli moved to the major jazz label Chesky Records to release his latest album, Invitation. The album is his return to the American songbook and, like his other albums, has once again garnered widespread praise from music critics. Supported by bassist Jay Leonhart, drummer Billy Drummond, saxophonist Joel Frahm, trumpeter Kenny Rampton and guitarist Paul Meyers, Invitation is becoming Kaestli's most famous and best reviewed album so far. The album has even made it onto the Roots Music Chart, recently moving into the 23rd position in the Top 50 Jazz Albums category.Invitation was recorded at historic St. Peter’s Church in Chelsea, New York City. Instead of close miking all the instruments, Chesky Records used one microphone to hear the full, 360-degree acoustic space of St. Peter’s Church. This recording has allowed much praise for the sound quality, being called "outstanding" and "significantly enhancing the album’s stark beauty" by Jazz Times.

Discography

• 2002 – Reasons
• 2005 - Happy, Sad, and Satisfied
• 2009 - Far From Home
• 2010 - Invitation

References

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External Links

• The Official Beat Kaestli website
• Beat Kaestli's MySpace