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Donny McCaslin: Recommended Tools
by Tom Greenland
Recommended Tools, saxophonist Donny McCaslin's seventh session as a leader and his first for Dave Douglas' Greenleaf Music, follows in the tenor trio tradition of Sonny Rollins' A Night at the Village Vanguard and Joe Henderson's The State of the Tenor. Going chordless, without the safety-net of a comping instrument, gives the frontline instrumentalist more latitude to take it out, but also creates additional pressure to establish and develop an improvisational narrative--a task that McCaslin proves well up to. Featuring ...
Continue ReadingDonny McCaslin Trio: Recommended Tools
by Woodrow Wilkins
The title song to Donny McCaslin Trio's Recommended Tools says it all. The tenor sax, bass and drums go all out in a freely expressive preview of what's to come. Each instrument gets its moment in the spotlight.McCaslin is a product of Santa Cruz, California, and a father who played piano and vibraphone. He began playing tenor sax at the age of twelve, which ultimately led to some appearances in Europe. He later joined the group Steps Ahead ...
Continue ReadingThe Donny McCaslin Trio at the Jazz Standard, NYC
by Budd Kopman
The Donny McCaslin Trio at The Jazz StandardThe Jazz StandardNew York City, New YorkSeptember 30, 2008
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin took the stage this night with his trio, bassist Ricky Rodriguez and drummer Ted Poor, and proceeded to blow up a mighty storm of great music in a format that is heard all too rarely. The tunes came from his latest release Recommended Tools (Greenleaf, 2008), which has garnered much praise from ... Continue ReadingDonny McCaslin: Trio Toolbox
by Jason Crane
Saxophonist and composer Donny McCaslin won the 2008 Down Beat Rising Star Award, which is both gratifying and hilarious, considering that he's been on the scene for nearly 20 years. In recent years, though, McCaslin has appeared in a number of high-profile settings, including the Maria Schneider Orchestra (for which he received a Grammy nomination) and with trumpeter Dave Douglas' Quintet.
On Recommended Tools (Greenleaf Music, 2008), McCaslin tackles one of the hallmarks of a saxophonist's ...
Continue ReadingDonny McCaslin: Recommended Tools
by Budd Kopman
From the opening, title tune, tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin, very tightly supported by bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Johnathan Blake, lays down the gauntlet on Recommended Tools with music that is decidedly cerebral, but containing enormous energy and drive that supports the feeling of playing with abandon while remaining under control. The aural journey is remarkable in that, despite the fact that the emotional intensity remains at a very high pitch, there is no fatigue as the ...
Continue ReadingDonny McCaslin Trio: Recommended Tools
by C. Michael Bailey
Tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin debuts on Dave Douglas' Greenleaf Music label with Recommended Tools. McCaslin shows his world-class cojones by heading a tenor trio with bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Jonathan Blake. The recording is produced by David Binney, no saxophone slouch himself, and executive produced by Douglas, who asked McCaslin to “write and record the great American tenor record."
Recommended Tools follows the path of other auspicious tenor offerings. In 1956, Sonny Rollins recorded with his first tenor trio ...
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