Home » Jazz Articles » Donny McCaslin
Jazz Articles about Donny McCaslin
The 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 ...
Continue ReadingDonny McCaslin Trio: Recommended Tools
by Troy Collins
The venerable trio tradition has long been viewed as a proving ground for the talents of upcoming tenor saxophonists. Thrust into the spotlight with minimal accompaniment, the stripped-down setting provides microscopic attention to an improviser's melodic ingenuity, harmonic subtlety and sense of rhythm; free of harmonic restraints, there is no room for error.
His seventh release as a leader, Recommended Tools is tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin's first trio session, and his first recording for part-time employer, trumpeter Dave ...
Continue ReadingAltsys Jazz Orchestra at 2008 IAJE Conference, Toronto
by Alayne McGregor
Altsys Jazz Orchestra2008 International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) conferenceToronto, CanadaJanuary 10, 2008The combination of a composer who bases his work on Canadian poetry and a fiery American saxophonist was a real crowd-pleaser at the 2008 International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) conference. The composer was trumpeter Bill Mahar, co-leader of the Montreal-based Altsys Jazz Orchestra. The saxophonist was New York-based Donny McCaslin, who has been collaborating with Altsys for the last ...
Continue Reading
