By Jon Chown
Donny McCaslin
Santa Cruz County native Donny McCaslin returns to the Monterey Jazz Festival this month, Sept. 21-23, to promote his new album “Blow,” scheduled for release in October.
The festival will showcase jazz legends Dianne Reeves, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, along with more contemporary artists such as Jon Batiste, Norah Jones, Lucinda Williams and many others. In fact, the festival advertises more than 500 artists in 120 performances.
One of the most anticipated will be McCaslin’s Saturday night show at Dizzy’s Den, where he is expected to play cuts from his new album. Then, on Sunday night, McCaslin will appear on the Arena Stage as part of a tribute to the late Michael Brecker.
McCaslin graduated from Aptos High School in 1984. He grew up in Santa Cruz County, first living on Cathedral Drive in Aptos until his parents divorced, then moving to Happy Valley, where he attended schools.
But he transferred back to Aptos High because of its jazz program run by Don Keller. McCaslin got his first taste of the Monterey Jazz Festival while still in high school, playing in the Next Generation Orchestra, the festival’s high school band, three times.
After graduation, he moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship. During his senior year, he was invited to tour with one of his instructors, Gary Burton. Burton is a jazz pioneer who developed the four-mallet technique of playing the vibraphone.
After touring the world with Burton, McCaslin moved to New York and his career began to take off. He played in several groups, including the Gil Evans Orchestra, and began to make a name for himself as both a soloist and bandleader. His early stuff is mostly acoustic, but as he as delved further into using electronic instruments, he has created his own distinct sound, which he describes as “an exploration of the intersection of electronica and improvisation.” Through it all, he’s produced 11 albums and been nominated for three Grammys.
McCaslin’s big break, though, came in 2016 when David Bowie enlisted him for “Blackstar,” Bowie’s final album, which was released two days after the rock star’s death from liver cancer.
McCaslin said he treasured the time he had with the rock legend.
“Right away, when I walked in the room and first met him, he was very warm, a very cordial person, just wonderful to be around,” McCaslin told the Aptos Times in 2016. “It was great hearing him talk about his history; he talked about literature, politics. He was always generous and a treat to be around. An inspiring person.”
Now, McCaslin says Bowie was an influence in many ways.
McCaslin says that the whole experience marked a new beginning for him. He released the album “Beyond Now” soon after, which featured two songs by Bowie. But because it was released so soon after “Blackstar,” Bowie’s influences had fully taken effect as of yet. It took months of touring and writing before it all sank in.
Bowie urged him to create “different loops and textures” and “that really stuck with me,” McCaslin said. “It’s such a big part of what I’m doing now, how I integrate the electronics and the saxophone.” And “Blow,” he says, fully realizes Bowie’s influence and his new artistic direction.
“The direction of this record is something I wouldn’t have imagined myself doing 10 years ago,” McCaslin is quoted on website. “But having the opportunity to play so much and then see where my creative imagination would go, and to be in that space for a lot longer, led me down this new pathway.”
And he says Blow is still just another stop in his journey.
“The live show is really evolving,” says McCaslin. “It’s going to continue to evolve and we have this vision of how it’s going to evolve. It’s going to be much different from what it has been … Going all in with new territory is really stimulating to me.”
McCaslin told the Aptos Times in 2016 that, as a teen, his goal was to be as good John Coltrane.
“I was young enough to think anybody could be as good as John Coltrane. Of course, I got older and my dream evolved to wanting to be able to pursue my artistic goals through music,” he said. “I wanted to be able to have a chance to work with some of the masters in music.”
On a late September night, McCaslin will be one of those masters, playing on possibly the most prestigious stage for jazz on the West Coast.
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The Monterey Jazz Festival takes place at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. More information and tickets for the Monterey Jazz Festival are available at www.montereyjazzfestival.org.