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Donny McCaslin
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band, featured on David Bowie‘s Blackstar, will make their Motéma Music debut with the October 14 release of Beyond Now, a highly anticipated album dedicated to Bowie. Recorded nearly three months after Bowie’s passing, the project is deeply influenced by their extraordinary experience collaborating with one of the greatest artists of all-time on his final album.
“It was like a dream except it was something I never could have dreamed of,” reflects McCaslin on working hand-in-hand with Bowie on Blackstar. “David Bowie was a visionary artist whose generosity, creative spirit, and fearlessness will stay with me the rest of my days. Beyond Now is dedicated to him and to all who loved him.”
Comprised of core Blackstar personnel, bassist Tim Lefebvre (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Saturday Night Live), drummer Mark Guiliana (Meshell Ndegeocello, Brad Mehldau), and Jason Lindner (Now Vs Now) along with guitarist Nate Wood and producer David Binney, Beyond Now‘s repertoire is expansive, comprised of two Bowie songs, covers of Deadmau5, MUTEMATH, and the Chainsmokers, as well as compelling McCaslin originals including the title composition, inspired by a track inspired by a song McCaslin recorded for Blackstar that didn’t make the album.
Today, Entertainment Weekly premiered Beyond Now‘s first single, “A Small Plot of Land,” a cover from Bowie’s 1995 release Outside (featuring vocalist Jeff Taylor). The album pre-order has launched today as well on iTunes; fans will receive “A Small Plot of Land” instantly when pre-ordering a download of the album. McCaslin has also announced extensive touring in the US and Europe through the remainder of the year. See below for a list of U.S. tour dates, including upcoming appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! and The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.
With three GRAMMY nominations and 11 albums to his name, McCaslin’s path to Bowie and Beyond Now can be traced back to 2011 with the release of his album Perpetual Motion, taking on an electric direction for the first time in contrast to his previous acoustic projects. Two subsequent albums Casting for Gravity (2012) and Fast Future (2015) released with his working band were directly influenced by electronica artists (covering groups such as Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, and Baths), which netted McCaslin a 2013 GRAMMY nomination for “Best Improvised Jazz Solo.”
The once in a lifetime opportunity to work with David Bowie came after composer Maria Schneider, a longtime collaborator, recommended McCaslin and his group to Bowie. Schneider and Bowie were collaborating on the track “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime),” which featured McCaslin as a soloist. In June 2014, Bowie heeded Schneider’s advice and made a visit to hear McCaslin and company at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village. Soon after, Bowie began corresponding with McCaslin over email and sending music, forming a new collaboration and friendship that transpired through the recording of Blackstar until Bowie’s passing. The result is Beyond Now, which documents “David Bowie’s Last Band” as they were processing both their grief and Bowie’s distinctive impact.
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From its solo conga introduction to its exuberant ensemble finale, Donny McCaslin's “Soar" leads listeners along a path of tension, anticipation, and release. The pleasures of the performance are immediate, yet its full gratification is tantalizingly delayed: rhythm first, then added texture, then a gathering rush of sound as each musician finds a place in the unfolding drama. Immanuel Kant's 1764 Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime invited readers to deeply consider subjective ...
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Continue Reading...Jazz Musician of the Day: Donny McCaslin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Donny McCaslin's birthday today!
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band, featured on David Bowie‘s Blackstar, will make their Motéma Music debut with the October 14 release of Beyond Now, a highly anticipated album dedicated to Bowie. Recorded nearly three months after Bowie’s passing, the project is deeply influenced by their extraordinary experience collaborating with one of the greatest artists of all-time on his final album. “It was like a dream except it was something I ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Donny McCaslin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Donny McCaslin's birthday today!
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band, featured on David Bowie‘s Blackstar, will make their Motéma Music debut with the October 14 release of Beyond Now, a highly anticipated album dedicated to Bowie. Recorded nearly three months after Bowie’s passing, the project is deeply influenced by their extraordinary experience collaborating with one of the greatest artists of all-time on his final album. “It was like a dream except it was something I ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Donny McCaslin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Donny McCaslin's birthday today!
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band, featured on David Bowie‘s Blackstar, will make their Motéma Music debut with the October 14 release of Beyond Now, a highly anticipated album dedicated to Bowie. Recorded nearly three months after Bowie’s passing, the project is deeply influenced by their extraordinary experience collaborating with one of the greatest artists of all-time on his final album. “It was like a dream except it was something I ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Donny McCaslin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Donny McCaslin's birthday today!
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band, featured on David Bowie‘s Blackstar, will make their Motéma Music debut with the October 14 release of Beyond Now, a highly anticipated album dedicated to Bowie. Recorded nearly three months after Bowie’s passing, the project is deeply influenced by their extraordinary experience collaborating with one of the greatest artists of all-time on his final album... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Donny McCaslin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Donny McCaslin's birthday today!
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band, featured on David Bowie‘s Blackstar, will make their Motéma Music debut with the October 14 release of Beyond Now, a highly anticipated album dedicated to Bowie. Recorded nearly three months after Bowie’s passing, the project is deeply influenced by their extraordinary experience collaborating with one of the greatest artists of all-time on his final album... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Donny McCaslin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Donny McCaslin's birthday today!
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band, featured on David Bowie‘s Blackstar, will make their Motéma Music debut with the October 14 release of Beyond Now, a highly anticipated album dedicated to Bowie. Recorded nearly three months after Bowie’s passing, the project is deeply influenced by their extraordinary experience collaborating with one of the greatest artists of all-time on his final album... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Donny McCaslin goes "Beyond Now"
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week, StLJN's video spotlight shines on saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who's coming to St. Louis to perform starting Wednesday, October 19 through Saturday, October 22 at Jazz at the Bistro. McCaslin has been in the news quite a bit this year, thanks to the work he and his band- Tim Lefebvre on bass, Jason Lindner on keyboards, and Mark Guiliana on drums- did on the late David Bowie's final album Blackstar. While this may have been the first time a ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Donny McCaslin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Donny McCaslin's birthday today!
Donny McCaslin launched 2004 with a new CD, balancing his career as bandleader with work as one of New York\'s most in- demand tenor saxophonists. On his latest Arabesque releae, The Way Through, the Brooklyn-based artist continues to defy label, proving he can unearth musical truth in any medium. “The album goes in a lot of different directions, but there\'s a line that goes through it for me," Donny says of ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Donny McCaslin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Donny McCaslin's birthday today! Donny McCaslin launched 2004 with a new CD, balancing his career as bandleader with work as one of New York\'s most in-demand tenor saxophonists. On his latest Arabesque releae, The Way Through, the Brooklyn-based artist continues to defy label, proving he can unearth musical truth in any medium. “The album goes in a lot of different directions, but there\'s a line that goes through it for me," Donny says of his ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Donny McCaslin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Donny McCaslin's birthday today! Donny McCaslin launched 2004 with a new CD, balancing his career as bandleader with work as one of New York\'s most in-demand tenor saxophonists. On his latest Arabesque releae, The Way Through, the Brooklyn-based artist continues to defy label, proving he can unearth musical truth in any medium. “The album goes in a lot of different directions, but there\'s a line that goes through it for me," Donny says of his ...
read more
“Donny McCaslin Was David Bowie’s David Bowie” –The Nation
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Donny McCaslin
Location: New York City
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
Born: August 11, 1966
