Jazz Articles about Donny McCaslin

Donny McCaslin Trio: Recommended Tools

by Troy Collins
August 20, 2008

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 ...

Altsys Jazz Orchestra at 2008 IAJE Conference, Toronto

by Alayne McGregor
January 22, 2008

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 ...

Dave Douglas Quintet: Live at the Jazz Standard

by John Kelman
December 13, 2007

Trumpeter Dave Douglas' a six-night run at New York's Jazz Standard in December, 2006, was relatively revolutionary in the jazz world. Every set, featuring his longstanding quintet, was recorded and made available the following morning in downloadable MP3 format. The twelve sets included nearly everything from The Infinite (RCA, 2002), Strange Liberation (RCA, 2003) and Meaning and Mystery (Greenleaf, 2006), as well as fourteen new pieces. Live at the Jazz Standard collects the best performances of this new material into ...

Donny McCaslin at The Jazz Standard

by Budd Kopman
October 1, 2007

Donny McCaslin at the Jazz StandardThe Jazz StandardNew York, NYTuesday, September 18, 2007 There has always existed in jazz a tension between the unprepared or spontaneous and the written or the composed. The recording process is part of this tension and crystallizes the immediate present moment for posterity, paradoxically helping to spread the jazz aesthetic while freezing it. The CD release tour is another paradoxical part of the jazz scene, in ...

Donny McCaslin: Pursuer

by Jason Crane
September 29, 2007

On the new episode of The Jazz Session, Jason Crane interviews saxophonist Donny McCaslin. One of the busiest saxophonists in the business, McCaslin plays with Maria Schneider, Dave Douglas and many others. He also fronts his own groups, including the band on his new CD, In Pursuit (Sunnyside, 2007). A follow-up to his critically acclaimed record Soar (Sunnyside, 2006), In Pursuit features compositions commissioned for a Chamber Music America grant. McCaslin talks about his father's influence, playing with ...

Donny McCaslin: In Pursuit

by Troy Collins
August 26, 2007

From his early forays with Steps Ahead and Ken Schaphorst's Big Band to Maria Schneider's Orchestra and his recent membership in Dave Douglas' Quintet, saxophonist/composer Donny McCaslin is finally beginning to receive the critical accolades he deserves.

His second album for Sunnyside and sixth as a leader, In Pursuit, follows a conceptual thread begun on Soar (Sunnyside, 2006). Seamlessly weaving advanced jazz harmony, lyrical melodies and Latin American polyrhythms into an organic whole, McCaslin proves his mettle as ...

Donny McCaslin: In Pursuit

by Laurel Gross
July 23, 2007

If creating challenging music that is also thoroughly entertaining were a crime, then Donny McCaslin ought to be in jail. Some jazz players/composers today can seem so preoccupied with producing art that they make it very difficult for listeners to get in on the fun. Not so with McCaslin, who proves with In Pursuit's nine originals that art doesn't have to be hard to digest. It's brain food that also offers sensual pleasures. A ...