Donald Paul McCaslin (born August 11, 1966) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has recorded over a dozen albums as a bandleader in addition to many sideman appearances, including on David Bowie's final studio album, Blackstar (2016).
Donny McCaslin | |
|---|---|
 McCaslin at Aarhus Festival, Denmark 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Donald Paul McCaslin |
| Born | August 11, 1966 Santa Clara, California |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Saxophone |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | Naxos, Arabesque, Criss Cross Jazz, Sunnyside, Greenleaf, SkyDeck |
| Website | www |
Early life edit
McCaslin was born in Santa Clara, California, on August 11, 1966.[1] His father was a vibraphonist, and McCaslin played in his father's ensemble at the age of twelve.[1] He had his own group in high school, which played three years at the Monterey Jazz Festival.[1]
Musical career edit
In 1987, after studying at Berklee College of Music, McCaslin joined Gary Burton's group and toured the world with him for four years.[2][1] In 1991 he moved to New York City and was a member of Steps Ahead.[1]
In November 2014, McCaslin played saxophone on David Bowie's single "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)".[1] Subsequently he would play saxophone on Bowie's 2016 album Blackstar.[3]
On October 14, 2016, McCaslin released Beyond Now, inspired by his experience recording Blackstar.[1] The album features the same band that appeared on Blackstar - Tim Lefebvre on bass, Jason Lindner on keyboards, and Mark Guiliana on drums.[4] The album includes two Bowie covers, as well as covers of MUTEMATH, Deadmau5, and The Chainsmokers, plus five original tracks.[4]
NPR's All Songs Considered called McCaslin's "What About the Body" single "exhilarating art-rock".[5] The album it came from, Blow, was awarded New Jazz Album of the Year by JazzJapan.[6]
Grammy nominations edit
- 2004: Best Jazz Instrumental Solo – "Bulería, Soleá Y Rumba" on Concert in the Garden by Maria Schneider[7][8]
- 2013: Best Improvised Jazz Solo – "Stadium Jazz" on Casting for Gravity[8][9]
- 2015: Best Improvised Jazz Solo – "Arbiters of Evolution" on The Thompson Fields by Maria Schneider[8][10]
Discography edit
As leader edit
- Exile and Discovery (Naxos, 1998)
- Seen from Above (Arabesque, 2000)
- The Way Through (Arabesque, 2003)
- Soar (Sunnyside, 2006)
- Give and Go (Criss Cross Jazz, 2006)
- In Pursuit (Sunnyside, 2007)
- Recommended Tools (Greenleaf, 2008)
- Declaration (Sunnyside, 2009)
- Perpetual Motion (Greenleaf, 2010)
- Casting for Gravity (Greenleaf, 2012)
- Fast Future (Greenleaf, 2015)
- Beyond Now (Motéma, 2016)
- Blow. (Motéma, 2018)
- Jong Metropole Orkest (Rotterdam 2022)
- I Want More (Edition Records, 2023)
Collaborations edit
With Lan Xang edit
- Lan Xang with David Binney, Scott Colley, Jeff Hirschfield (1998)
- Hidden Gardens with David Binney, Scott Colley, Kenny Wolensen (2000)
With Dave Douglas edit
- Meaning and Mystery (Greenleaf, 2006)
- Live at the Jazz Standard (Greenleaf, 2007)
With The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra edit
- Concert in the Garden (ArtistShare, 2004)
- Sky Blue (ArtistShare, 2007)
- The Thompson Fields (ArtistShare, 2015)
- Data Lords (ArtistShare, 2020)
With David Bowie edit
As sideman edit
- Tyler Collins, Tyler (RCA, 1992)
- Bruno Raberg, Pentimento (Boston Skyline, 1992)
- Terence Trent D'Arby, Terence Trent D'Arby's Symphony or Damn (Columbia, 1993)
- Tia Carrere, Dream (Reprise, 1993)
- Nokko, Call Me Nightlife (Epic, 1993)
- Nokko, I Will Catch U (Sony, 1993)
- Virgil Moorefield, Distractions On the Way to the King's Party (Cuneiform, 1994)
- Steps Ahead, Vibe (NYC, 1995)
- Scott Colley, Portable Universe (Free Lance, 1996)
- Rachel Z, Room of One's Own (NYC, 1996)
- Hector Martignon, Portrait in White and Black (Candid, 1996)
- Roberta Piket, Unbroken Line (Criss Cross, 1997)
- Hector Martignon, The Foreign Affair (Candid, 1998)
- Reuben Wilson, Organ Donor (Jazzateria, 1998)
- Ken Schaphorst Big Band, Purple (Naxos, 1999)
- Luis Bonilla, Escucha! (Candid, 2000)
- New York Voices, Sing! Sing! Sing! (Concord Jazz, 2001)
- David Binney, Balance (ACT, 2002)
- Tony Monaco, Master Chops T (Summit, 2002)
- Alex Sipiagin, Mirrors (Criss Cross, 2002)
- Steve Hass, Traveler (Hassbeat, 2003)
- Danilo Perez, Till Then (Verve, 2003)
- George Schuller, Round 'Bout Now (Playscape, 2003)
- Luciana Souza, North and South (Limited Edition 2003)
- Ethan Winogrand, Made in Brooklyn (Clean Feed, 2003)
- Hans Glawischnig, Common Ground (Fresh Sound, 2004)
- Bruno Raberg, Chrysalis (OrbisMusic, 2004)
- Fahir Atakoglu, If (Far & Here, 2005)
- Luis Bonilla, Trombonilla: Terminal Clarity (Now Jazz Consortium, 2005)
- Gene Ess, Sandbox and Sanctum (Simp, 2005)
- Matthias Lupri, Metalix (Summit, 2006)
- Torben Waldorff, Brilliance (Artistshare, 2006)
- Kenichi Doami, Chronicle (2007)
- Alex Sipiagin, Out of the Circle (ArtistShare, 2007)
- Kate McGarry, If Less Is More (Palmetto, 2008)
- George Schuller, Like Before Somewhat After (Playscape, 2008)
- Gary Versace, Outside In (Criss Cross, 2008)
- Torben Waldorff, Afterburn (Artistshare, 2008)
- Julie Lamontagne Trio, Now What (Justin Time, 2009)
- Dave Lisik, Coming Through Slaughter: The Bolden Legend (SkyDeck Music, 2009)
- Geggie Trio, Across the Sky (Plunge, 2010)
- Bobby McFerrin, Vocabularies (Emarcy, 2010)
- Torben Waldorff, American Rock Beauty (Artistshare, 2010)
- Joel Harrison, Search (Sunnyside, 2011)
- Ethan Winogrand, Half Full (Every Good Song, 2011)
- Marshall Gilkes, Sound Stories (Alternate Side, 2012)
- Hutchinson Andrew Trio, Prairie Modern (Chronograph, 2013)
- Samo Salamon, Stretching Out (Samo, 2013)
- Antonio Sánchez, New Life (CAM Jazz, 2013)
- Thana Alexa, Ode to Heroes (Jazz Village, 2014)
- Alon Nechushtan, Venture Bound (Enja, 2014)
- Kenny Carr, Idle Talk (CDBaby, 2014)
- Dave Lisik, Machaut Man and a Superman Hat (Rattle, 2014)
- Pavel Wlosok Trio, Alternate Reality (CDBaby, 2014)
- Enrico Pieranunzi, Proximity (CAM Jazz, 2015)
- Monkey House, Left (Alma, 2016)
- Enrico Pieranunzi, New Spring (CAM Jazz, 2016)
- WinterFisch Quartet, Timeless (Jazz Sick, 2016)
- Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr, Landed in Brooklyn (ACT, 2017)
- Art Hirahara, Central Line (Posi-Tone, 2017)
- Art Hirahara, Sunward Bound (Posi-Tone, 2018)
- Michael Leonhart, The Painted Lady Suite (Sunnyside, 2018)
- Sun Kil Moon, I Also Want to Die in New Orleans (Caldo Verde, 2019)
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g Ditzel, Eleanour. "Donny McCaslin: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ "Donny McCaslin". necmusic.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
- ^ Chinen, Nate On David Bowie's 'Blackstar,' Turning to Jazz for Inspiration The New York Times. January 5, 2016
- ^ a b Pearce, Sheldon David Bowie's Blackstar Band Announces New Album, Shares "A Small Plot of Land" Cover. Pitchfork. July 30, 2016/
- ^ "New Mix: M. Ward, David Bowie Saxophonist Donny McCaslin, Sad Baxter, More". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
- ^ "JazzJapan Award 2018". JazzJapan. 102: 007. March 2019.
- ^ "GRAMMYs On The Road With Donny McCaslin And Poncho Sánchez". Grammy.com.
- ^ a b c "GRAMMY Award Results for Donny McCaslin". Grammy.com. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ "Exploring The Jazz Field Nominees". Grammy.com.
- ^ "Nominees and Winners | GRAMMY.com". Archived from the original on 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
- ^ Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Titan Books. pp. 269–271. ISBN 978-1-78565-365-0.
- ^ Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Titan Books. pp. 471–472. ISBN 978-1-78565-365-0.