He supported himself as a session singer, backing Barbara Tucker and Inaya Day, and working with Linda Hopkins on the world tour of the Harlem Gospel Show.
His debut album was Reasons (2002), a collection of R&B-infused, pop-jazz originals that led to comparisons to such disparate headliners as George Michael and Maxwell.
Happy, Sad, and Satisfied garnered positive reviews and was named one of the top 25 CDs of 2006 by Indie Music magazine.
[3] Kaestli returned to the classroom in 2007 when the Ella Fitzgerald Foundation scholarship from the Society of Singers provided him the opportunity to earn a master's degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music.
Supported by bassist Jay Leonhart, drummer Billy Drummond, saxophonist Joel Frahm, trumpeter Kenny Rampton, and guitarist Paul Meyers.