The "Lost" Donny McCaslin Album

Hey You! You like Donny McCaslin. Trust me, you do. You just don’t know it yet…

There’s an album that I think really exemplifies the sound that McCaslin was achieving with his now famous quartet of Mark Guiliana, Jason Lindner, and Tim Lefebvre. It’s called Fast Future. It came out right before his work with David Bowie and Blackstar, Bowie’s final record. I’m not sure what happened, I’m assuming some sort of distribution deal or representation change, that lead to this album being removed from Spotify, but, it’s sadly no longer available on the one streaming service to which I subscribe. While it may be on YouTube (discussed in another post), please go check it out and buy it on bandcamp.

The following is set to begin at one of my favorite songs of all time, “No Eyes”. PLEASE BUY THE RECORD.

Featured Artist - Now vs. Now

I first caught the trio version of this group at Dazzle in Denver, CO.  They have since just come out with their debut album "Now vs. Now".  The group was started and is lead by pianist Jason Lindner and includes Panagiotis Andreou (bass and vocals) and phenomenal drummer out of NY, Mark Guiliana.  They quote their sound as being "garage jazz", what it is is FREAKING AWESOME.  They are joined by a host of other musicians, but most notably by trumpet player Avishai Cohen (not the same as the bass player) and emcee/spoken-word-artist Baba Israel.  The first project I heard of Jason Lindner's was his big band album, Jason Lindner Big Band: Live at the Jazz Gallery which, for anyone interested in contemporary jazz arranging, is a must have.  I was unprepared to say the least when I showed up to hear this group at Dazzle.  I walked in, shoving past the giant red curtain that separates what feels like a jazz heaven from the rest of the world.  Everyone was sitting, just looking exhausted after the first set; I discovered why during the second.  This group takes you on a musical journey like no other.  This had to be one of the top 15 shows that I've seen to date.  Their debut album has a host of guests including Avishai and Baba, but also Anat Cohen, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Yosvany Terry, and Meshell Ndegeocello.