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 David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's final studio album, ''

Blackstar ''Blackstar'' is an American animated science fantasy television series, produced in 1981 by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being '' The Freedom Force'', a segment of '' ...

'' (2016).

Early life

McCaslin was born in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

, on August 11, 1966. His father was a

vibraphonist The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

, and McCaslin played in his father's ensemble at the age of twelve. He had his own group in high school, which played three years at the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jaz ...

Musical career

Jazzaldia2017-DONNY MCCASLIN QUARTET-ConcertPlazaTrinidad 03

In 1987, after studying at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, McCaslin joined Gary Burton's group and toured the world with him for four years. In 1991 he moved to New York City and was a member of

Steps Ahead Steps Ahead is an American jazz fusion group. History The group arose out of spontaneous sessions at Seventh Avenue South, a jazz club in New York City owned by saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter brother Randy Brecker. The first three al ...

. In November 2014, McCaslin played saxophone on

's single "

Sue (Or in a Season of Crime) "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" is a song by English musician David Bowie released on 17 November 2014 as the lead single from the 2014 compilation album ''Nothing Has Changed''. Co-produced by Bowie and longtime collaborator Tony Viscon ...

". Subsequently he would play saxophone on Bowie's 2016 album ''

''. On October 14, 2016, McCaslin released ''Beyond Now'', inspired by his experience recording ''Blackstar''. The album features the same band that appeared on ''Blackstar'' - Tim Lefebvre on bass,

Jason Lindner Jason Lindner (born February 1, 1973) is an American pianist, keyboardist, synthesist, sound designer, composer, arranger and producer. Life and career Lindner was brought up in Brooklyn, New York City.Matzner, Frank A. (August 18, 2014"Jason Li ...

on keyboards, and

Mark Guiliana Mark Guiliana (born September 2, 1980) is a Grammy-nominated American drummer, composer and leader of the band Beat Music. He is known for his playing with Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau, David Bowie, Meshell Ndegeocello, Gretchen Parlato, Jason ...

on drums. The album includes two Bowie covers, as well as covers of

MUTEMATH Mutemath (sometimes styled as MuteMath or MUTEMATH) is an American alternative rock project founded by American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer Paul Meany. Originally co-founded as a band with Darren King in 2002, ...

Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces ...

, and

The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM- pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...

, plus five original tracks.Pearce, Sheldo
David Bowie's Blackstar Band Announces New Album, Shares "A Small Plot of Land" Cover
''Pitchfork''. July 30, 2016/ NPR's

All Songs Considered ''All Songs Considered'' is a weekly online multimedia program started in January 2000 by NPR's ''All Things Considered'' director Bob Boilen. At first, the show featured information and streaming audio about the songs used as bumper music on '' ...

called McCaslin's "What About the Body" single "exhilarating art-rock". The album it came from, ''Blow'', was awarded New Jazz Album of the Year by JazzJapan.

Grammy nominations

* 2004:

Best Jazz Instrumental Solo The Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo has been awarded since 1959. Before 1979 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances. The award has had several minor name change ...

– "Bulería, Soleá Y Rumba" on ''

Concert in the Garden ''Concert in the Garden'' is the fourth studio album by American jazz composer Maria Schneider. The album was released in 2004 by ArtistShare and won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2005. In 2019, the album was selected b ...

'' by

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...

* 2013: Best Improvised Jazz Solo – "Stadium Jazz" on ''Casting for Gravity'' * 2015: Best Improvised Jazz Solo – "Arbiters of Evolution" on ''The Thompson Fields'' by Maria Schneider

Discography

As leader

* ''Exile and Discovery'' (

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

, 1998) * ''Seen from Above'' (

Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

, 2000) * ''The Way Through'' (Arabesque, 2003) * ''Soar'' ( Sunnyside, 2006) * ''Give and Go'' (

Criss Cross Jazz Criss Cross Jazz is a Dutch record company and label specializing in jazz. Criss Cross was established in 1980 by Gerry Teekens, a drummer and German language, German professor.

, 2006) * ''In Pursuit'' (Sunnyside, 2007) * ''Recommended Tools'' ( Greenleaf, 2008) * ''Declaration'' (Sunnyside, 2009) * ''Perpetual Motion'' (Greenleaf, 2010) * ''Casting for Gravity'' (Greenleaf, 2012) * ''Fast Future'' (Greenleaf, 2015) * ''Beyond Now'' (Motéma, 2016) * ''Blow.'' (Motéma, 2018) * '' Jong Metropole Orkest (Rotterdam 2022)

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

* '' Meaning and Mystery'' (Greenleaf, 2006) * '' Live at the Jazz Standard'' (Greenleaf, 2007)

With The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra

* ''

'' (

ArtistShare ArtistShare is the internet's first commercial crowdfunding website.Crowd-Funding 101: What Every Musician Needs for a Successful Campaign It also operates as a record label and business model for artists which enables them to fund their projec ...

, 2004) * ''

Sky Blue Sky blue is a shade of light blue comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. The term (as "sky blew") is attested from 1681. A 1585 translation of Nicolas de Nicolay's 1576 ''Les navigations, peregrinations et voyages faicts en la Turquie'' in ...

'' (ArtistShare, 2007) * '' The Thompson Fields'' (ArtistShare, 2015)

With David Bowie

* "

" (ISO, 2015) * ''

'' (ISO, 2016) * '' No Plan'' ( Columbia, 2017)

As sideman

* Tyler Collins, ''Tyler'' (RCA, 1992) * Bruno Raberg, ''Pentimento'' (Boston Skyline, 1992) *

Terence Trent D'Arby Sananda Francesco Maitreya (born Terence Trent Howard; March 15, 1962), who started his career with the stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer and songwriter who came to fame with his debut studio album, '' Introducing the Hardl ...

, ''Terence Trent D'Arby's Symphony or Damn'' (Columbia, 1993) *

Tia Carrere Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo (born January 2, 1967), known professionally as Tia Carrere (), is an American actress, singer and former model who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera '' General Hospital''. Carrere played C ...

, ''Dream'' (Reprise, 1993) *

Nokko Nokko (born November 4, 1963) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actress. She was the lead singer of the popular band " Rebecca," which had a string of hits in Japan in the 1980s. Nokko was born in Urawa, Saitama, as . Under her st ...

, ''Call Me Nightlife'' (Epic, 1993) * Nokko, ''I Will Catch U'' (Sony, 1993) *

Virgil Moorefield Virgil Moorefield (born August 9, 1956) is a composer and intermedia artist based in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. Moorefield's work focuses primarily on live acoustic performance, electronic processing of acoustic signals, and live visual music ("Fi ...

, ''Distractions On the Way to the King's Party'' (Cuneiform, 1994) *

, ''Vibe'' (NYC, 1995) * Scott Colley, ''Portable Universe'' (Free Lance, 1996) *

Rachel Z Rachel Carmel Hakim ( née Nicolazzo), better known as Rachel Z, is a jazz and rock pianist and keyboardist. She has recorded 10 solo albums as a jazz musician. Her musical style, especially her improvisation, has been described as adjacent to H ...

, ''Room of One's Own'' (NYC, 1996) *

Hector Martignon Hector Martignon is a Colombian pianist and composer of Italian descent living in New York City. Two of Martignon's albums have been nominated for a Grammy Award: Refugee (2007) and Second Chance (2010). Martignon is known for crossbreeding the i ...

, ''Portrait in White and Black'' (Candid, 1996) * Roberta Piket, ''Unbroken Line'' (Criss Cross, 1997) *

, ''The Foreign Affair'' (Candid, 1998) *

Reuben Wilson Reuben Wilson (born April 9, 1935) is a jazz organist. He performs soul jazz and acid jazz, and is best known for his title track "Got to Get Your Own". He was born in Mounds, Oklahoma and his family moved to Pasadena when he was 5. He played in ...

, ''Organ Donor'' (Jazzateria, 1998) *

Ken Schaphorst Ken Schaphorst (born May 24, 1960 in Abington, Pennsylvania) is a composer, performer, and educator. Career Before moving to Boston in 2001, Schaphorst served as Director of Jazz Studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin for ten years. ...

Big Band, ''Purple'' (Naxos, 1999) * Luis Bonilla, ''Escucha!'' (Candid, 2000) *

New York Voices New York Voices is a jazz vocal group that was founded in 1987 by Peter Eldridge, Caprice Fox, Sara Krieger, Darmon Meader, and Kim Nazarian. All except Krieger were members of an alumni group from Ithaca College that toured Europe in 1986. They ...

, ''Sing! Sing! Sing!'' (Concord Jazz, 2001) *

David Binney David Binney (born August 2, 1961) is an American alto saxophonist and composer. Early life Binney was born in Miami, Florida, and was raised in Carpinteria, California. From his parents, who loved music, he was exposed to albums by John C ...

, ''Balance'' (ACT, 2002) *

Tony Monaco Anthony M. "Tony" Monaco (born August 14, 1959) is an American jazz organist. at The Hammond Jazz Inventory Biography Monaco played accordion from childhood and was heavily influenced by Jimmy Smith in his youth. In 1971, he switched to organ ...

, ''Master Chops T'' (Summit, 2002) *

Alex Sipiagin Alex Sipiagin (born June 11, 1967) is a Russian jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. Biography Sipiagin was born on June 11, 1967. He moved from Russia to the U.S. in 1990. His first major job in the U.S. was with the Gil Evans Band. He has p ...

, ''Mirrors'' (Criss Cross, 2002) *

Steve Hass Steve Hass (born May 11, 1975) is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Island Park, New York, born to Greek immigrant parents from Athens. He is notable for his technical skill, time feel, and his musical versatility, hav ...

, ''Traveler'' (Hassbeat, 2003) *

Danilo Perez Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born 19 ...

, ''Till Then'' (Verve, 2003) * George Schuller, ''Round 'Bout Now'' (Playscape, 2003) *

Luciana Souza Luciana Souza (born 12 July 1966) is a Brazilian jazz singer and composer who also works in classical and chamber music. Her song ''Muita Bobeira'' was featured as a music sample on Windows Vista. Music career Grammy winner Luciana Souza is one ...

, ''North and South'' (Limited Edition 2003) * Ethan Winogrand, ''Made in Brooklyn'' (Clean Feed, 2003) * Hans Glawischnig, ''Common Ground'' (Fresh Sound, 2004) * Bruno Raberg, ''Chrysalis'' (OrbisMusic, 2004) * Fahir Atakoglu, ''If'' (Far & Here, 2005) * Luis Bonilla, ''Trombonilla: Terminal Clarity'' (Now Jazz Consortium, 2005) *

Gene Ess Gene Ess is a Japanese-American jazz guitarist. He was a member of the Rashied Ali Quintet, working with Ravi Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Lonnie Plaxico, and Reggie Workman. Career Ess was born Gene Shimosato in Tokyo, Japan, and raised in Okinawa ...

, ''Sandbox and Sanctum'' (Simp, 2005) *

Matthias Lupri Matthias Albrecht Lupri (born 29 October 1964 in Germany) is a jazz musician who plays the vibraphone. History Lupri grew up in Manhattan, Kansas, and Alberta, Canada. Initially he played the drums, and as a teenager played in blues, rock, and co ...

, ''Metalix'' (Summit, 2006) * Torben Waldorff, ''Brilliance'' (Artistshare, 2006) * Kenichi Doami, ''Chronicle'' (2007) * Alex Sipiagin, ''Out of the Circle'' (ArtistShare, 2007) *

Kate McGarry Katherine Genevieve McGarry, known professionally as Kate McGarry, is a jazz vocalist. Career McGarry grew up in an Irish-American family with nine siblings in Hyannis, Massachusetts. She attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, graduat ...

, ''If Less Is More'' (Palmetto, 2008) * George Schuller, ''Like Before Somewhat After'' (Playscape, 2008) * Gary Versace, ''Outside In'' (Criss Cross, 2008) * Torben Waldorff, ''Afterburn'' (Artistshare, 2008) * Julie Lamontagne Trio, ''Now What'' (Justin Time, 2009) * Dave Lisik, '' Coming Through Slaughter: The Bolden Legend'' (

SkyDeck Music SkyDeck Music is a record label and print publisher. The label started in the United States in 2007 as Galloping Cow Records and has released albums by Seamus Blake, Luis Bonilla, Tim Hagans, Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra, Donny McCaslin, Dic ...

, 2009) * Geggie Trio, ''Across the Sky'' (Plunge, 2010) *

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...

, ''Vocabularies'' (Emarcy, 2010) * Torben Waldorff, ''American Rock Beauty'' (Artistshare, 2010) *

Joel Harrison Joel Harrison is an American jazz guitarist, singer, composer, and arranger. Career Harrison was born in Washington, D.C. and graduated from Bard College, New York, in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts in composition and performance. His father was ...

, ''Search'' (Sunnyside, 2011) * Ethan Winogrand, ''Half Full'' (Every Good Song, 2011) * Marshall Gilkes, ''Sound Stories'' (Alternate Side, 2012) * Hutchinson Andrew Trio, ''Prairie Modern'' (Chronograph, 2013) * Samo Salamon, ''Stretching Out'' (Samo, 2013) * Antonio Sánchez, '' New Life'' (CAM Jazz, 2013) *

Thana Alexa Thana Alexa (born Thana Alexa Pavelić; born March 19, 1987) is an American jazz vocalist, composer, arranger and producer. Biography Early life Alexa's interest in music began at age three when she disappeared from a birthday party and was dis ...

, ''Ode to Heroes'' (Jazz Village, 2014) * Alon Nechushtan, ''Venture Bound'' (Enja, 2014) * Kenny Carr, ''Idle Talk'' (CDBaby, 2014) * Dave Lisik, ''Machaut Man and a Superman Hat'' (Rattle, 2014) * Pavel Wlosok Trio, ''Alternate Reality'' (CDBaby, 2014) *

Enrico Pieranunzi Enrico Pieranunzi (born 5 December 1949) is an Italian jazz pianist. He combines classical technique with jazz. Biography The son of Renata Brillantini and Alvaro Pieranunzi, Enrico Pieranunzi was encouraged to study music at a young age. Hi ...

, ''Proximity'' (CAM Jazz, 2015) *

Monkey House Monkey House is a musical group founded by Don Breithaupt, a Canadian-born pianist, singer/songwriter, composer, arranger, producer and author. The group got its name from a 1970 book by Kurt Vonnegut. History The band formed in 1992, performing ...

, ''

Left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

'' (Alma, 2016) * Enrico Pieranunzi, ''New Spring'' (CAM Jazz, 2016) * WinterFisch Quartet, ''Timeless'' (Jazz Sick, 2016) * Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr, ''Landed in Brooklyn'' (ACT, 2017) * Art Hirahara, ''Central Line'' (Posi-Tone, 2017) * Art Hirahara, ''Sunward Bound'' (Posi-Tone, 2018) *

Michael Leonhart Michael Leonhart (born April 21, 1974) is an American jazz trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist. Solo career In 1992 Leonhart was honored with the first Grammy Award for outstanding high school musician in the US (he attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia ...

, ''The Painted Lady Suite'' (Sunnyside, 2018) *

Sun Kil Moon Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist M ...

, ''I Also Want to Die in New Orleans'' (Caldo Verde, 2019)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCaslin, Donny American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Musicians from Santa Cruz, California 1966 births Living people Berklee College of Music alumni Arabesque Records artists Criss Cross Jazz artists 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from California 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Steps Ahead members Motéma Music artists Sunnyside Records artists