Donny McCaslin
Organised by: Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Festival
Venue: Conservatori del Liceu
Photography: Jordi Amela (@amela_photo_concert)
Writer: Carles Pinós
On Monday 6 November we had the privilege of attending the Donny McCaslin Quartet concert, part of the Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Festival 2023 programme. The quartet — Donny McCaslin (tenor sax), Jason Lidner (keys, electronics), Tim Lefebvre (bass) and Antonio Sánchez (drums) — presented the musician’s most recent work, “I Want More” (2023), giving us a thrilling, high-voltage performance that left the audience open-mouthed.
The concert opened with “Stria”, the opening track of his latest album, which began with an atmospheric synth bass sound and an electronic-based build that set the mood, before giving way to a stubborn, insistent, hypnotic riff from Donny McCaslin that marked the track’s initial burst, leading into a markedly jazz-rock piece close to the aesthetic of a Michael Brecker.
The show continued along its more familiar nu jazz lines, with Jason Lidner brushing up against excellence, sketching out sumptuous melodic and harmonic touches. Among others, tracks from his latest album rang out, such as “Fly My Space Ship” and “Hold ‘Em Tight”; the quartet remained forceful throughout, with an imaginative Donny McCaslin and a Jason Lidner wrapped up in his synths.
The most emotional point of the concert was the musicians’ tribute to David Bowie, performing “Lazarus” from his final album “Blackstar” (2016). Although Donny McCaslin already had an established career, going back to his early days with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, he and his fellow travellers became known to the wider public thanks to their work recording Bowie’s last album; with the exception of Antonio Sánchez (who replaced Mark Guiliana), the quartet’s members were the late singer-songwriter’s own musicians.
Despite some technical problems our headliner had with his cable and mic, the concert was a memorable performance, with the quartet navigating the many corners of fusion — at times evoking a Joe Zawinul in Weather Report mode, at others waving the flag of modernity in a loquacious, almost techno party, all without breaking a sweat. The band’s sound stayed tight throughout the concert, even though Antonio Sánchez had barely had a chance to rehearse with the rest of the musicians. All in all, we were in the presence of a high-voltage proposal, and one of the foremost exponents of this new vision of fusion well into the 21st century.