Donny McCaslin Goes Beyond Now At Birdland – January 9, 2017

It was one year ago, last January, when we got the amazing Blackstar album from David Bowie and then learned of his death two days later.  I had been fortunate enough to speak to Tony Visconti shortly before the release so I had an inkling for what was in store.  The gist of Tony’s preview was that a brilliant local jazz quartet led by Donny McCaslin were playing rock written and sung by David Bowie.  Visconti raved about how drummer Mark Guiliana ‘changed all of our lives’ and no less of a dude than Derek Trucks is on the record as to Tim Lefevbre being a phenomenal bass player. Nate Wood, by the way, performs very admirably when Tim can’t turn up, as was the case on Monday.  In the bonus video below, Donny speaks to myriad influences and how he hooked up with said co-conspirators along with keys-man Jason Linder.  

The phenomenal success of Blackstar still has not completely run its course as was made plain by a phone call that McCaslin received while I was setting up my camera backstage at Birdland on Monday night.  The subject of the call was being in attendance at the grammy ceremony next month as a representative in case the album wins any of the handful of awards it has been nominated for.  Earlier this month, three non-album tracks from the sessions were released as David Bowie’s No Plan EP and McCaslin let its momentum carry him towards his new album Beyond Now.  That’s not to suggest by any means that Beyond Now is Blackstar Part Two.  Some of its spirit is in there surely including a pair of Bowie covers and the realization of a song begun during the recordings with him.  However, as a musician in the truest sense who is constantly evolving and incorporating new influences, Beyond Now also includes interpretations of compositions by Deadmau5 and Mutemath.  Bowie’s parting gift to the world wasn’t just Blackstar.  It was turning people on to Donny McCaslin.  

John Scofield is a guitar virtuoso. He can make his guitar, seemingly, do anything he wants short or having it buy a round of drinks. Brad Mehldau is a keyboard virtuoso. No appreciable space exists between sounds in his head (I imagine) and the sounds that emanate from his piano or, as he showed last week at The Blue Note, from his electronic keyboards. Mark Guiliana is a virtuoso on drums. The most memorable quote about him was from Tony Visconti when he spoke about producing the final David Bowie album. “Mark Guiliana changed all our lives!” What a way to kick off The Blue Note Jazz Festival 2016: these three men, on stage in New York City as a trio for the first time ever, playing eleven freshly born songs that they had collaborated on.

‘Freshly born’ is not an overstatement. Scofield explained that they had exchanged emails and sound files for a while but it was only a few days before the first gig that they had been able to get together to give them their initial work out in person. The musicians used some sheet music on stage that, as Mehldau mentioned during the set, would no doubt become unnecessary by the end of their six night stand which ended Sunday.

Scofield revealed that the three had not even spoken about bringing the new trio into the studio yet. However, when I asked him if fans could be optimistic, he said that after they do a big tour of Europe that starts in Slovenia at the end of the month, they could kick around the possibility of an album and that he sure hopes so. Scofiield/Mehldau/Guiliana will return to the states for what promises to be memorable appearance at the Detroit Jazz Festival in September. Sco will also turn up at the Newport Jazz Festival in July with his quartet featuring Joe Lovano.

1-6-16 Producer Tony Visconti Talks David Bowie and Blackstar 

UPDATED 1-9 with video from last night’s Holy Holy show…

I was excited for the opportunity to speak to Tony Visconti who has amassed an absolutely stunning body of work as a producer.  Not only the most essential Bowie albums but the best work of T-Rex and rewarding collaborations with everyone from T-Rex to John Hiatt to Angelique Kidjo to Alejandro Escovedo.  As I would expect from a guy from Brooklyn, Tony was a straight shooter of a conversationalist with not a hint of pretension.  We recorded the interview just two days ago in The Log Cabin – a beautiful studio whose atmosphere is captured in its name.  The studio wizard who was manning the cabin had crossed paths with Visconti before and spoke of him as something of a mentor.  He was even more delighted than me to have a man of Visconti’s discography in the house.

Above is the 2 minute piece airing on NY1 today in which Visconti speaks about the new Bowie album Blackstar.  Like the last one, The Next Day, it was done secretly at another lovely studio The Magic Shop in Soho.  He revealed that he and Bowie share a long held affinity for jazz and they finally incorporated that form in a big way by getting another New Yorker  (since 91) Donny McCaslin and his quartet involved.  The first Bowie song McCaslin’s sax made it onto was Sue (or in a season of crime) which led off the nifty 2014 collection Nothing Has Changed.  That song was reworked for Blackstar  and McCaslin – along with his mates Jason Lindner on keyboards, Tim Lefebvre on bass and Mark Guiliana on drums- were the core band.  Linder, by the way, is doing a Monday night residency at Nublu in the East Village this month.  Guiliana will lead his own quartet at Subculture (also in the village) next Friday the 15th.  Lefebvre will be at The Apollo playing a gig with his main group the Tedeschi Trucks Band on the 26th and the full Donny McCaslin quartet minus Lefebvre and plus Nate Wood on bass will be  at the Village Vanguard doing a 6 night run that starts on the 19th of this month.

Visconti also explained what Holy Holy is all about.  That’s the band he is in who are on tour and who played last night at the Highline Ballroom.  As we had such a good chat, I’m offering some bonus material as well: Tony on his favorite 3 Bowie albums.  Oh, and this is a good article on Bowie btw that explains what Tony did that he referenced while speaking about Heroes.