The O'Zone | Donny McCaslin, Saxophonist
On a cold January night in 2016, I was watching a video copy of Blackstar and Lazurus by David Bowie. I had received the CD as well, but the videos were striking and compelling. I found myself wondering who was playing sax on the recording, and discovered it was none other than Donny McCaslin.
I turned off the video on the TV, and as it happened, I was confronted by a broadcast television show with the shocking news that David Bowie had died just two days after the release of his last recording (which had come out on his 69th birthday). As I later found out, Bowie knew of his impending death and recorded the album in secret as a “parting gift” for his fans. Producer Tony Visconti had booked time at the Magic Shop and Human Worldwide Studios in New York City, and Bowie recruited a local New York jazz quartet led by Donny McCaslin.
Donny’s playing is particularly poignant and intense and is integral to this swan song. I was familiar with McCaslin from my stints hosting shows like “The Jazz Odyssey” and “Jazz on the Edge” at KUVO. I had found myself always enjoying his dates as a leader but also as a very in demand side man.
I was certainly already a supporter of his incredible playing and considered myself a fan to be sure. So, recently I was excited to have the opportunity to interview Donny for this column in light of the recent release of his startling new record Lullaby for the Lost and his upcoming appearance at Boettcher Concert Hall with The Blackstar Orchestra as they perform music from Bowie’s Blackstar album.
I asked McCaslin, “How is it emotionally to revisit the music from Blackstar?”
“Oh it’s definitely emotional. I think like many people, it was hard for me to listen to the record,” he continued, “I was reticent to listen to it for quite a while after David passed away, but you know, I started listening.
And I think, part of it for me is being able to realize this music with this new vision, with all these people involved, with these great orchestrators: Tony Visconti, Maria Schneider, Vince Mendoza, Jules Buckley, Michael Dudley, Tim Davis…these guys are all master orchestrators and all brought their sort of A-game, if you will, to this project. So, it’s majestic to hear it realized this way in a way that I think David would have been into.
Because the DNA from the record is there, of course, but also there’s spots where we stretch things out and we add some new colors.”
He elaborated, “Just by virtue of having this palette of 75 musicians, it’s really such a broad scope now to the music that it’s just really emotional to play it.”
He paused for a moment and resumed, “To hear it in this new light reimagined and to feel that it’s growing has really been exciting. Gail Ann Dorsey sings just masterfully, singing for John Cameron Mitchell and David Poe, and they’re all just growing into the roles as this thing continues to evolve.”
We also spoke about McCaslin’s new record just released, called Lullaby for the Lost.
Donny remarked about collateral influences on his own compositions about these cuts in particular. “The industrial punch of Nine Inch Nails, the righteous roar of Rage against the Machine and Neil Young, there’s an amazing version of “Rock in the Free World” from Saturday Night Live.
It's just over the top, that sort of primal, almost like punk energy. I was so galvanized by it and just have sort of repeatedly gone back to it as a source of inspiration. The song “Wasteland”, for example, I want to write something that has that energy.”
Here’s my favorite cut on the album, called “Stately”
In our conversation, he discussed why he included the song on his album. “There’s a record that [Nine Inch Nails] produced for this pop singer, Halsey. It’s called If I Can’t Have Love I Want Power, and that was, I thought, a great record. I listened to it over and over. There’s the song “Stately”, which is a ballad.
There’s this sort of underpinning, this harmonic move, and sort of baseline (not bassline) thing that for me is kind of a signature thing that I hear Trent (Reznor) and Atticus (Ross) do a lot. So I mean, I move it around harmonically.” These compositions are deeply personal, expressing a wide range of emotions from 'passion, anger, and the wonder of beauty…beauty and yearning over a bed of angst.”
On Donny’s album, he is joined by his crew of great players who've worked with him regularly:
Jason Lindner: Synthesizers, Electric & Acoustic Pianos,
Sound Design, and Harmonium.
Ben Monder: Guitar
Zach Danziger: Bass
Nate Wood: Drums
Tim Lefebvre: Producer, Bass, Guitar, Synths, Synth Bass
And guests,
Ryan Dahle: Guitar on Blond Crush
Mark Guiliana: Drums on KID
Their shared skillful resourcefulness enables a seamless combination of exploratory, improvised sophistication with raw, powerful rock intensity.
Donny promises his band will be touring this album soon.
I always admired Donny’s swashbuckling heroic soloing
but since Blackstar an additional sensitivity that comes
from loss. You play what you’ve lived. Donny McCaslin has lived much indeed.
Lonesome Heartbreak Blue Note Blues
Trumpet at the window and laughter on the wind
Cried before a note came to mind
Story in a sigh, hear that minor cry
No proof in the suffering night
notes like sparrows falling into flight
scattering leaves
and then that solo grieves.
You can’t replace heartbreak in a blue tune
Nothing equals suffering
No machine understands hurt
No algorithm writes a blues that feels truly sad
The only code that matters is the secret language
of feels that feel bad
despondent loss and disappointment.
Ironic, heroic, and flowing into a song
Joy is the result of playing that blues
The second line erupts, and a frenzied dance returns
lonesome into lonely and loneliness in hues
You pass the 12 bars down to harmony that burns.
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