The Donny McCaslin Trio: Johnathan Blake, Drums; Boris Kozlov, Bass; Donny McCaslin, Tenor Saxophone
Last Friday’s concert brought the Donny McCaslin Trio to the Athenaeum’s La Jolla Arts Library. The group’s format was akin to that employed by Sonny Rollins in the Aix en Provence live album reviewed on this site, though the lack of a chordal instrument proved to be less intimidating than it was on Rollins’ rather inaccessible live recording. McCaslin, the California-born, New York-based bandleader entertained the crowd with charming, intimate banter that complemented his flowing improvisation. His sound filled the room, and the Athenaeum offered strikingly good acoustics for the unamplified horn. Overall, the set evenly featured the individual players as soloists and focused on McCaslin’s own compositions, the majority of which can be found on his new album, “Declaration.” In the spirit of the genre, the entire concert had an air of spontaneity, from McCaslin’s endearing anecdotes and off-the-cuff musings to an impromptu rendition of the jazz standard, “Take the A Train,” at the request of an audience member.
As a saxophone player, I was astounded by McCaslin’s mastery of the entire range of his instrument and his uninhibited eagerness to explore every register. His altissimo range was stratospheric and refined, and must have been the product of years of work, and he wasn’t afraid to shock the audience from time to time with a bellowing honk from the horn’s lowest range. His improvisations effortlessly navigated the often-irregular time signatures of his compositions, and the interactions between him and Blake seemed especially inspired.
This will probably be my final blog entry for a while, as I’ll begin an official hiatus later in the month when I set off for the Berklee School of Music’s 5 week Summer Performance Program in Boston. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Athenaeum for letting me write and maintain this blog and take advantage of their wonderful cultural resources, and I also want to commend any reader dedicated enough to find and read this blog.
Great on-target review of a great concert; both were charming. I’ll miss your commentary, but sounds like a worthwhile cause. We look forward to your debut performance at the Athenaeum some day not too long away.
Another great review! And very interesting to me after recently hearing Sonny Rollins live and particularly enjoying his duets with bass and trios with bass and drums. I’m sorry I missed McCaslin when he recently appeared in SF, but I will look for a recording. Berklee Summer Program sounds exciting and I hope you’ll report on this blog when you return. Have a great time.