The only
thing predictable about Donny McCaslin's first ten albums was their
unpredictability. Each new release arrived with a new line-up and not
infrequently a new direction, often providing the perpetually curious
saxophonist/composer with fertile new ground to explore.
On the
surface, what makes McCaslin's latest release, Fast Future (available March 31,
2015 on Dave Douglas' Greenleaf Music), something of a radical departure from
his usual M.O., is that it reprises the stunning electro-acoustic quartet from
its groundbreaking, critically-acclaimed predecessor, Casting for Gravity - a
project that earned McCaslin a 2014 GRAMMY® nomination for "Best
Instrumental Jazz Solo" on the track "Stadium Jazz." However as
the title implies, Fast Future finds McCaslin and company - keyboardist Jason
Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre, and drummer Mark Guiliana, along with longtime
producer David Binney - hurtling further into the relatively unexplored
crossroads between jazz and electronica with virtuosic musicianship. Long
influenced by fusion pioneers like Weather Report and Herbie Hancock's
Headhunters, McCaslin integrates those hybrid instincts with innovative modern
artists like Aphex Twin and Skrillex.
"I
really love the sonic textures and ambient vibe that you hear in a lot of that
music," says McCaslin of the influence that electronica and EDM
(Electronic Dance Music) has had on his music. "Having these guys
improvising and interacting within that sonic landscape feels great."
At the
core of even the most adventurous soundscapes on Fast Future - McCaslin's
fourth album for Greenleaf and the first release during the company's 10th
anniversary year - are similar sensibilities that have fueled McCaslin's
acoustic music, namely vigorous melodies, taut interaction, and the leader's
instantly recognizable, brawny tenor voice. Take "No Eyes," a cover
of a song by Baths, the alter ego of L.A.-based electronica artist Will
Wiesenfeld. Atop the electronic synth-bass throb sits a gorgeous, singable
melody, which Binney enhances via transcendent wordless vocals (an element that
was not previously highlighted on Casting for Gravity). "Sometimes in the
electronica realm there's not enough harmonic movement or melody for me,"
McCaslin says. "But that song is a beautiful tune in and of itself and you
could play it in a variety of ways." It is in this overall spirit that
Fast Future showcases McCaslin in a slightly more commercial context, featuring
production tendencies that are more often reserved for non-jazz projects.
"Greenleaf has again provided an opportunity for me to experiment and that
comes from the openness and sensibility of Dave Douglas," says McCaslin,
who was a member of Douglas' quintet.
McCaslin
is well known for his standout playing in the Maria Schneider Orchestra (having
recently been featured on the David Bowie/Maria Schneider collaboration,
"Sue") and Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project, and he compares the
feeling of playing amid lush electronic environments to soloing against those
vivid big-band backdrops. "Standing and playing in front of this bed of
beauty is such a joy," he says. "It's so awesome to be surrounded by
such deep music."
The
members of McCaslin's quartet have been incredibly busy in the two years since
the release of Casting for Gravity. Lefebvre, already in-demand for Hollywood
soundtrack work and subbing on Saturday Night Live, joined the Tedeschi Trucks
Band, a touring juggernaut that has kept him almost constantly on the road.
Lindner remains a commanding presence on the NYC jazz scene, leading his
renowned band Now Vs Now and its large ensemble spin-off, Breeding Ground.
Guiliana joined with pianist Brad Mehldau to form the electronic duo project
Mehliana and founded the independent record label Beat Music Productions, which
recently launched with the release of two of his own new projects.
All of
those experiences converge when these individually inventive artists come
together in McCaslin's quartet, now with multiple years of experience as a
working unit. The saxophonist calls Lefebvre "the DJ of the band,"
the breadth of his stylistic and sonic range driving the band into different
territories from one moment to the next. With his own background in production,
drum and bass, and electronic music, Guiliana easily transcends the genre
boundaries traversed by McCaslin's music and is so crucial to the band's sound
that the bandleader has said, "this record is a drum solo." And
McCaslin praises Lindner's "stylistic malleability," noting his gift
at finding "these sounds that feel right and are edgy, but he's also able
to be so in the moment and so organic."
Saxophonist, composer and producer
Binney, McCaslin's longtime friend, collaborator, and basketball partner, is
the fifth member of the quartet. Months before he sets foot in the studio for
any project, McCaslin consults with Binney and the two shape a vision for his
next project. "I can't overstate the significance of Dave's contribution
to this record," McCaslin says. "It was a real partnership. He was
never more of an influence on a record than he was on this one."
One
example that McCaslin cites is the haunting spoken word interlude on "Love
What is Mortal," performed by Jana Dagdagan, intertwined above McCaslin
pristine soloing and treatment of melody. An integral component of the song's
melancholy atmosphere, the dialogue was entirely Binney's idea, and he
presented it complete and already edited into the track when McCaslin entered
the studio one day. "I thought it was perfect," McCaslin says.
"How lucky am I to have a friend like that?"
From the
bombastic grooves of the title track, through the lustrous ballad
"Midnight Light" and the frantic free-jazz mutation of Aphex Twin's
"54 Cymru Beats," to the final dub-tinged stealth of closer
"Squeeze Thru," which evokes McCaslin's youth in Santa Cruz, seeing
reggae legends like Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Mighty Diamonds, and Burning Spear
live, Fast Future offers a thrilling vision of the shape and redefinition of
jazz to come.
Upcoming
DONNY McCASLIN Performances:
All
dates to feature the Donny McCaslin Group unless otherwise noted.
Personnel
for each date varies.
January
29 - 31 / University of Mary (Guest w/ Univ. Big Band) / Bismarck, ND
February
12 / Regattabar / Cambridge, MA
February 15 / Darulbedayi Caddesi Harbiye
Sisli
(w/
Maria Schneider Orchestra) / Istanbul, Turkey
February
20 - 21 / University of Wisconsin -
River
Falls (Guest w/ Univ. Big Band) / River Falls, WI
March 7
/ The Jazz Bakery / Los Angeles, CA
March 12
- 15 / Cuesta College / San Luis Obispo, CA
March 16
/ El Cerrito High School (Guest w/ High School Jazz Band) / El Cerrito, CA
March 19
/ Jazz en Rafale (Donny McCaslin Trio
w/ Scott
Colley & Jonathan Blake) / Montreal, QC
March 25
- 28 / Mondavi Center / Davis, CA
April 1
/ Humber College (Artist-in-Residence) / Toronto
April 3
/ Kent State University (Guest Artist) / Kent, OH
April 7
- 8 / The Jazz Standard / New York, NY
April 12
- 18 / Jaazar Festivel (Guest Artist) / Aarua, Switzerland
April 21
- 25 / Reno Jazz Festival (Guest Artist) / Reno, NV
April 28 - May 3 / Village Vanguard (w/ Enrico Pieranunzi
Group) / New York, NY
May 14 -
17 / Jazz Standard (w/ Gil Evans Project - CD Release / New York, NY
June 2 -
6 / Birdland (w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra) / New York, NY
July 18
/ Kuumbwa Jazz Center / Santa Cruz, CA
July 19
/ Stanford Jazz Workshop / Stanford, CA
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