Donny McCaslin

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Donny McCaslin
Donny-maccaslin DSC07853.jpg
McCaslin at Aarhus Festival, Denmark 2018
Background information
Birth nameDonald Paul McCaslin
Born (1966-08-11) August 11, 1966 (age 58)
Santa Clara, California
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentSaxophone
Years active1978–present
Labels Naxos, Arabesque, Criss Cross Jazz, Sunnyside, Greenleaf, SkyDeck
Website www.donnymccaslin.com

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).

Contents

Early life

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

Concert at Donostia Jazz Festival 2017 Jazzaldia2017-DONNY MCCASLIN QUARTET-ConcertPlazaTrinidad 03.jpg
Concert at Donostia Jazz Festival 2017

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

Discography

As leader

McCaslin in Aarhus, Denmark Donny-mccalsin DSC02030.jpg
McCaslin in Aarhus, Denmark

Collaborations

With Lan Xang

  • Lan Xang with David Binney, Scott Colley, Jeff Hirschfield (1998)
  • Hidden Gardens with David Binney, Scott Colley, Kenny Wolensen (2000)

With Dave Douglas

With The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra

With David Bowie

As sideman

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ditzel, Eleanour. "Donny McCaslin: Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  2. ↑ "Donny McCaslin". necmusic.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  3. ↑ Chinen, Nate On David Bowie's 'Blackstar,' Turning to Jazz for Inspiration The New York Times. January 5, 2016
  4. 1 2 Pearce, Sheldon David Bowie's Blackstar Band Announces New Album, Shares "A Small Plot of Land" Cover. Pitchfork. July 30, 2016/
  5. ↑ "New Mix: M. Ward, David Bowie Saxophonist Donny McCaslin, Sad Baxter, More". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  6. ↑ "JazzJapan Award 2018". JazzJapan. 102: 007. March 2019.
  7. ↑ "GRAMMYs On The Road With Donny McCaslin And Poncho Sánchez". Grammy.com.
  8. 1 2 3 "GRAMMY Award Results for Donny McCaslin". Grammy.com. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Exploring The Jazz Field Nominees". Grammy.com.
  10. ↑ "Nominees and Winners | GRAMMY.com". Archived from the original on 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  11. ↑ Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Titan Books. pp. 269–271. ISBN   978-1-78565-365-0.
  12. ↑ Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Titan Books. pp. 471–472. ISBN   978-1-78565-365-0.
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