Donny McCaslin: Declaration (2009 – Sunnyside)

 Venturing into unexplored territory, New York-based tenor saxophonist’s third recording for Sunnyside Records is a marked departure from his previous release, the stripped-down trio session Recommended Tools (Greenleaf, 2008). Augmenting his working ensemble with an understated brass section, Declaration showcases McCaslin’s stellar skills as an improviser while demonstrating his mettle as a burgeoning writer and arranger.
Renowned for his Olympian tenor solos, McCaslin’s facile interpretive abilities were honed under the tutelage of George Garzone and Billy Pierce at Berklee, and documented as a sideman in the company of such luminaries as David Binney, Dave Douglas, Danilo Perez and Maria Schneider. McCaslin comes into his own as a composer on this panoramic session, which highlights his creative virtuosity as soloist and writer in a variety of settings.
Joined by pianist Edward Simon and a four-piece brass choir, McCaslin’s augmented quintet interprets these multi-hued compositions with brio. As veterans of McCaslin’s previous Sunnyside dates, In Pursuit (2007) and Soar (2006), guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Scott Colley, drummer Antonio Sanchez and percussionist Pernell Saturnino lend this session a congenial sensibility filled with lyrical panache.
New to this longstanding core line-up, Simon proves as valuable a foil for McCaslin as Monder. Restrained and economical, Simon delivers billowy narrative soliloquies on “M” and “2nd Hour,” offering serene contrast to the leader’s fervid cadences. Whether amplifying McCaslin’s muscular phrasing with scorching fretwork on the appropriately titled “Rock Me,” or unveiling gossamer filigrees on the lush ballad “Jeanina,” Monder’s chameleonic versatility is peerless.
Embracing a wealth of genres and styles, the anthem-like opener “M” showcases the leader’s pneumatic tenor, while “Fat Cat” demonstrates McCaslin and Simon’s expertise navigating percolating Latin rhythms. The opulent harmonies of “Jeanina” and the plaintive Americana of the title track are the inverse of “Uppercut” and “2nd Hour”—labyrinthine post-bop excursions fraught with oblique angles and ingenious arrangements. Indicative of their titles, “Rock Me” is an electrified rave-up, with “Late Night Gospel” one of McCaslin’s most compelling tunes—an ascending blues meditation featuring Simon and Monder’s silver-toned lyricism buoyed by soulful brass accompaniment.
Considered one of the reigning mainstream tenor stylists of the post-Michael Brecker generation, Declaration is a bold new step for McCaslin, proving his abilities as a developing composer and arranger of note and opening new vistas on an already promising career.
By Troy Collins (All About Jazz)

Tracklist:
01 – M
02 – Fat Cat
03 – Declaration
04 – Uppercut
05 – Rock Me
06 – Jeanina
07 – 2nd Hour
08 – Last Night Gospel

Parsonnel:
Donny McCaslin: tenor saxophone, alto flute (1, 8)
Edward Simon: acoustic piano, organ (5)
Ben Monder: guitar
Scott Colley: bass
Antonio Sanchez: drums
Pernell Saturnino: percussion (2)
Alex Sipiagin: trumpet, flugelhorn (1, 2, 3, 5, 7)
Chris Komer: French horn (1, 2, 3, 5)
Marshall Gilkes: trombone (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8)
Marcus Rojas: tuba (3, 5, 7, 8), bass trombone (1)
Tatum Greenblatt: trumpet (1)

Original Release Date: July 28, 2009 – Label: Sunny Side Records

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Dave Holland Octet: Pathways (2010 – Dare2 Records)

It’s been nearly four years since bassist Dave Holland has delivered an album based around his enduring quintet of over a decade. Since 2006’s Critical Mass (Dare2), he’s released Pass It On (Dare2, 2008) and The Monterey Quartet: Live at the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival (Monterey Jazz Festival Records, 2009), both featuring ensembles where, for the first time in his lengthy career, the bassist collaborated with pianists. While both discs were as exhilarating and groove-heavy as anything he’s done, the inherent chemistry of his quintet—powerhouse saxophonist Chris Potter, ever-inventive trombonist Robin Eubanks, harmonically modernistic vibraphonist Steve Nelson and potent drummer Nate Smith—remains something special, whether on its own or at the core of Holland’s big band, last heard on Overtime (Dare2, 2005).

As a happy medium between the smaller, lither quintet and its more expansive big band cousin, the Dave Holland Octet has toured occasionally over the past several years, making a formal release long overdue. Recorded live at New York’s Birdland at the beginning of 2009, Pathways also bucks Holland’s recent trend with a set list culled largely from the past, but with updated arrangements that take advantage of both the ensemble firepower and solo acumen of additional members Antonio Hart (alto saxophone), Alex Sipiagin (trumpet) and Gary Smulyan (baritone sax)—all members of the Dave Holland Big Band and a larger musical family to which the veteran bassist has been consistently loyal over the past decade.
While the modal “Shadow Dance” has been a part of Holland’s repertoire since Jumpin’ In (ECM, 1984), with the bassist’s chordless, horn-driven quintet of the 1980s, it has never grooved quite this hard, thanks to Smith’s ability to be simultaneously frenetic and in the pocket. Nelson’s marimba adds a new dimension to a familiar track that features a lengthy, painstakingly built and ultimately climactic solo from Hart that ratchets up even higher when Holland, Smith and Nelson kick into high gear. Nelson has played “Ebb and Flo” before, on the 1996 ECM quartet date, Dream of the Elders, but with four horns to push the melody and provide egging-on support for its soloists—Eubanks, Holland and Potter’s particularly incendiary tenor spot—Holland’s new, Latin-esque arrangement burns even brighter.
Holland’s larger ensemble arrangement of the riff-driven “How’s Never?”—originally heard in the guitar-centric context of his egalitarian Gateway trio with John Abercrombie and drummer Jack DeJohnette—is intriguing. Even more so is “Blue Jean,” originally a Latin ballad on his World Trio (Intuition, 1995) date with acoustic guitarist (and Robin’s brother) Kevin Eubanks and percussionist Mino Cinelu. Here, in a significantly extended version, it is still a minor-keyed blues ballad, but Holland’s lush, Gil Evans-like horn arrangement creates an expansive context for a Potter’s soulful tenor solo, as he liberally quotes the classic “The Shadow of Your Smile” before passing the baton to Sipiagin, whose flugelhorn solo is a combination of serpentine virtuosity and deeply rooted lyricism.
Despite a preponderance of older material, also including Sipiagin’s knotty, Brazilian-tinged “Wind Dance”—first heard on the trumpeter’s Out of the Circle (ArtistShare, 2007) and, like the original, with vibrant solos from both Sipiagin and Eubanks—there’s new material, too. The set opens with Holland’s 11-minute title track, another Afro-Cuban, modal workout that gives Smulyan an early chance to shine with a solo that swings hard as it weaves new melodies through Holland’s slowly unfolding changes. A lithe yet muscular bass solo leads to a tarter turn for Sipiagin (this time on trumpet) which, as it evolves, reaches into the stratosphere without ever turning brash or harsh. Potter turns to soprano on his own “Sea of Marmara,” a gentle, atmospheric track made all the more ethereal by Nelson’s shimmering vibes and an early segment where lines are passed around the horns like a tag team, but which, like most tracks on Pathways, turns high octane once the solos begin.
John Kelman (All About Jazz)

Track List:

1. Pathways 

2. How’s Never? 

3. Sea of Marmara 

4. Ebb and Flow 

5. Blue Jean 

6. Wind Dance 

7. Shadow Dance 

Personnel:

Dave Holland: (bass)

Antonio Hart: (alto sax, flute)

Chris Potter: (tenor sax, soprano sax)

Gary Smulyan: (baritone sax)

Alex Sipiagin: (trumpet, flugelhorn)

Robin Eubanks: (trombone)

Steve Nelson: (vibraphone, marimba)

Nate Smith: (drums)

Original Release Date: 2010  –  Label: Dare2 Records

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