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 as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's final studio album, '' Blackstar'' (2016).

Early life

McCaslin was born in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Clare of Assisi, Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns i ...

, on August 11, 1966. His father was a

vibraphonist The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) 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 ''vib ...

, 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 jazz ...

Musical career

Jazzaldia2017-DONNY MCCASLIN QUARTET-ConcertPlazaTrinidad 03

In 1987, after studying at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

, McCaslin joined

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz Vibraphone, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused ...

'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 a ...

. 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 the 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 Vis ...

". Subsequently he would play saxophone on Bowie's 2016 album '' Blackstar''. 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 Tim Lefebvre (born February 4, 1968) is an American bass guitarist. Both as a session musician and band member, he has worked with a wide range of musicians, including David Bowie, The Black Crowes, Elvis Costello, Sting, Empire of the Sun, The ...

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 an American drummer, composer and leader of the band Beat Music. He has played with Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau, David Bowie, Meshell Ndegeocello, Gretchen Parlato, Jason Lindner, Lionel Loueke, Dhafe ...

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 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...

, and

The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The electronic dance music, EDM-Pop music, pop duo achieved a breakth ...

, 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 podcast and radio program hosted by Robin Hilton. It was created in January 2000 by NPR's ''All Things Considered'' then-director Bob Boilen and produced by Robin Hilton beginning in 2001. At first, ...

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 – "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 ...

'' 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) (born 1960), American musician and composer * Maria Schneider (ca ...

* 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 (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

, 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 "Foliate ...

, 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 1981 in Enschede, Netherlands by Gerry Teekens, a professional drummer and linguistics professor. Teekens founded the label after organiz ...

, 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) * '' I Want More'' (

Edition Records Edition Records is an independent record label that was founded in 2008 by pianist Dave Stapleton and photographer Tim Dickeson.Dave Douglas David or Dave Douglas may refer to: Entertainment * David Douglas (director) (born 1953), Canadian cinematographer, director and writer * Dave Douglas (trumpeter) (born 1963), American jazz trumpeter * Dave Douglas (drummer) (born 1979), American ...

* '' Meaning and Mystery'' (Greenleaf, 2006) * ''

Live at the Jazz Standard ''Live at the Jazz Standard'' is the 27th album by trumpeter Dave Douglas and the first to feature him exclusively on cornet. It was released on the Greenleaf label in 2007 and features live performances by Douglas, Donny McCaslin, Uri Caine, ...

'' (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 proje ...

, 2004) * ''

Sky Blue Sky blue refers to a collection of shades comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. Typically it is a shade of cyan or light teal, though some iterations are closer to light Azure (color), azure or light blue. The term (as "sky blew") is atte ...

'' (ArtistShare, 2007) * ''

The Thompson Fields ''The Thompson Fields'' is an album by the Maria Schneider Orchestra that won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2017. Schneider was the composer, conductor, and co-producer of the autobiographical work. The title comes fro ...

'' (ArtistShare, 2015) * ''

Data Lords ''Data Lords'' is a large-ensemble jazz album by the Maria Schneider Orchestra that was released in 2020. Summary The tracks of the album are thematically organized in two sections, which the liner notes call "a story of two worlds" and are mu ...

'' (ArtistShare, 2020)

With David Bowie

* "

" (ISO, 2015) * '' Blackstar'' (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 Hard ...

, ''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 and singer who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera ''General Hospital''. Carrere played Cassandra Wong i ...

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

Nokko Nokko (born November 4, 1963) is a Japanese singer. 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 stage name Nokko, she also had multipl ...

, ''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 Scott Colley (born November 24, 1963) is an American jazz double bassist and composer. As of 2024, he had been nominated for 4 Grammy Awards, including Best Jazz Instrumental Album for '' Guided Tour'' in 2014 and '' Still Dreaming'' in 2019. Duri ...

, ''Portable Universe'' (Free Lance, 1996) *

Rachel Z Rachel Carmel Hakim (née Nicolazzo), better known as Rachel Z, is an American jazz and rock pianist and keyboardist. She has recorded 13 albums as a leader and jazz musician. Her musical style, especially her improvisation, has been described a ...

, ''Room of One's Own'' (NYC, 1996) * Hector Martignon, ''Portrait in White and Black'' (Candid, 1996) *

Roberta Piket Roberta Piket (born 1965) is an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and arranger. Life and career Piket was born in Queens, New York,Jackson, Grant (February 26, 2011"Roberta Piket on Piano Jazz" npr. in 1965. Her father was composer Fred ...

, ''Unbroken Line'' (Criss Cross, 1997) * Hector Martignon, ''The Foreign Affair'' (Candid, 1998) *

Reuben Wilson Reuben Wilson (April 9, 1935 – May 26, 2023) was an American jazz organist in the soul jazz tradition. Widely sampled and influential among acid jazz musicians, he is best known for his album ''Got to Get Your Own''. Biography Wilson was bo ...

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

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

Big Band, ''Purple'' (Naxos, 1999) *

Luis Bonilla Luis Diego Bonilla (October 12, 1965) is an American jazz trombonist of Costa Rican descent. He is also a producer, composer, and educator. Biography Early life, musical education and influences Luis Bonilla was born and raised in Eagle Rock, ...

, ''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. The ...

, ''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 Colt ...

, ''Balance'' (ACT, 2002) * Tony Monaco, ''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 pl ...

, ''Mirrors'' (Criss Cross, 2002) * Steve Hass, ''Traveler'' (Hassbeat, 2003) * Danilo Perez, ''Till Then'' (Verve, 2003) *

George Schuller George Schuller (born December 29, 1958) is an American jazz drummer. He is the son of composer Gunther Schuller. Biography Schuller was born in New York City and raised in Boston. In 1982 he graduated from the New England Conservatory of Mus ...

, ''Round 'Bout Now'' (Playscape, 2003) *

Luciana Souza Luciana Souza (born 12 July 1966) is a Brazilian jazz singer and composer who also works in bossa nova, pop, classical and chamber music. She won a Grammy Award in 2007, and has been nominated for seven others, most recently in 2024. Souza is con ...

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

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

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and conductor (music), conductor. His Vocal pedagogy, vocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in Pitch (music), pitch—fo ...

, ''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 Samo (–) was the founder and sole ruler of the first recorded political union of Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire ("realm", "kingdom", or "tribal union"), ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to Fredegarius, the only contem ...

, ''Stretching Out'' (Samo, 2013) * Antonio Sánchez, '' New Life'' (CAM Jazz, 2013) *

Thana Alexa Thana Alexa Pavelić (born March 19, 1987) is a jazz vocalist, composer, arranger, and producer. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her 2020 recording ''Ona''. Early life and education Alexa's interest in music ...

, ''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, ''

Left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

'' (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. LaGuardi ...

, ''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 1966 births Living people American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Musicians from Santa Cruz, California 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