Brad Cheeseman Group

View readers might know some of Brad Cheeseman’s musical exploits as the bass player has grown up performing on our local stages with the likes of the Infinite Machine, Aetherborn, Andre Bisson and more. He would lend his talents to a wide range of hard rock, progressive alternative and rhythm and blues but Cheeseman’s scholastic endeavors at Mohawk and Humber Colleges have offered a deeper exploration into his instrument and the music he makes. This week, Hamilton fans get to see a different side of Brad Cheeseman’s music.

“I really am into a ton of different musical things and the projects that I've been involved with over the last decade or so have reflected the development of those interests,” ruminates Cheeseman. “Since I make a living playing music, there are definitely times when a gig is just a gig, but the original music that I’m a part of is always an extension of what rings true for me.

“The time spent studying music in post–secondary and now grad school has been really rewarding all around,” adds Cheeseman. “Beyond the actual educational aspects and the theoretical/practical development, the communities that I’ve been a part of in those schools have opened my eyes to all sorts of new music and inspire me to be better every day. I started getting into jazz around the time that I started at Mohawk in 2006 but it took a few years for it to really grab hold. The more I listened to it and played it, though, the more it became a crucial part of my musical identity. Even during the brief period that I was playing with Aetherborn, I would get home from rehearsal and work on compositions that would eventually become a part of the BCG repertoire. I feel like the BCG is, in some ways, what all of my previous projects have been building towards.”

The BGC’s CDEP, Mixed Messages was released last April and already garnered the Brad Cheeseman Group a couple of Hamilton Music Awards nominations in the Jazz and Instrumental Recording of the Year — a definite sign that Cheeseman is on to something here.

“The music borrows from a lot of styles and has a number of different things to say,” notes Cheeseman. “One person might call it jazz, one might call it progressive, one might call it something else — they’d all be right, at least partially so. I wanted to realize all of these different interests in one place but needed to do it in a way that was coherent and didn't sound like some sort of experiment; it needed to be musical and personal. I suppose that, yes, the intent of the project is serious, but the music can be a number of things — sentimental, playful, dramatic, brooding, etc. and the musicians can also take things in unexpected directions.

“The faces have changed a bit since the first performances two years ago but all of the musicians have been players that I met at either Mohawk or Humber — some I have been playing with for a while and others I really appreciate for their musicality,” adds Cheeseman. “While the compositions are my own, it's the players who breathe life into the music and take it to that next level and I’m lucky to have a band like this.”

Spending more time in Toronto these days furthering his studies, the Brad Cheeseman Group (featuring Lorenzo Castelli (drums), Robert Chapman (guitar), Sam Kogen (keyboard) and Chelsea McBride (tenor sax)) play Hamilton for the first time in sixteen months and Cheeseman hopes to make the hometown showcase a special event.

“2013 was a weird year for us and while we tried to get at least one Hamilton date going, it just didn’t work out,” says Cheeseman. “We haven’t played Hamilton since October 2012 and because it’s been so long since we’ve been here, I really want to share a bunch of material that I’m proud of that has never been played in Hamilton. Having grown up here, it’s important to maintain my roots and I really want to share what we’ve been up to since the last time we were in town. The one thing I really try to do with each composition is tell a story and not let it become just a vehicle for soloing, so I hope that when audiences come to a performance, they’ll recognize something familiar in the music and join us for the ride.” - View Magazine

Each [song] is a deft mix of off-kilter time signatures, well-crafted keyboard and bass lines and some great saxophone work. - CBC Hamilton

The Brad Cheeseman Group’s sound is a deft mix of jazz, rock and R&B. Mixed Messages was nominated for four awards at the 2013 HMAs, including jazz recording of the year. - CBC Hamilton

"Meet Brad Cheeseman, a bassist who has an interesting story of how he switched from guitar to bass, and never looked back. Be sure to check out his videos below of his transcriptions and bands, and also check out his website for the transcriptions themselves...." - No Treble

Bassist and composer Brad Cheeseman has released an EP of tender and intricate contemporary jazz tunes called "Mixed Messages", which you can listen to and/or buy here: http://bradcheeseman.bandcamp.com/ - Scribblings

"...Cheeseman is on his way to becoming one of Canada's bright new jazz composer-artists, as evidenced by his debut Mixed Messages.

Cheeseman proves that he is a true flex man on the bass and demonstrates that he can cross over into modern jazz stylings that force him to step up the melodic and improvisational content of his playing. And he does it superbly in his own bass work, and then takes it further by composing and arranging the whole picture for a jazz quintet.

Cheeseman's Mixed Messages is comprised of three sparkling and innovative jazz compositions, superbly recorded, exuding freshness and excitement. The technical execution of Cheeseman's quintet is spectacular. Under his direction, prodded by the compositions themselves, the ensemble fully explores an extremely wide range of dynamic, rhythmic and melodic ideas.

I highly recommend Mixed Messages." - Hamilton Musician