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Listen to Donny McCaslin play Ellington, Strayhorn, and more on NPR's Piano Jazz via NPRmusic.

Donny McCaslin Group with Jason Lindner, Tim Lefebvre, and Zach Danziger play tunes from Casting For Gravity on the Voice of America stage as part of Beyond Category with Eric Felton.

Donny McCaslin with Matt Mitchell, Tim Lefebvre, and Nate Wood in Europe.

The Many Voices of Trumpeter and Composer Dave Douglas

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Acclaimed saxophonist Donny McCaslin takes a bold leap forward with his tenth album as a leader, Casting for Gravity. McCaslin's gargantuan tenor sound finds an ideal setting to rampage through in the ferocious grooves and electronic textures of keyboardist Jason Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre, and drummer Mark Guiliana.

Donny came to Chicago earlier this year with Jason, Tim, and Mark for a run at Green Mill previewing music they were getting ready to record. Needless to say, we were dumbfounded and extremely excited at what we heard and saw. What we heard was all this new music that was, at the time, dubbed "Stadium Jazz" by Tim. It was big, bigger than anything we'd heard before. Donny flexing his herculean horn, Mark breaking beats and blowing minds, Tim towering in the back muscling his fuzz pedals, and Jason synthing it all to the outer limits. What we saw was more head bobbing than you'd expect at a jazz show. The young kids trying their hardest to record video on their phones on-the-sly all lapping up every note by everyone on the stage. Maybe it was the Old Fashioneds we were drinking, but this was one of the best shows we've ever seen at the Mill.

The saxophonist Donny McCaslin has been steadily adding to a body of work that is firmly establishing him as a powerful voice in modern creative music. As a in-demand sideman on such interesting recent efforts like Ryan Truesdale's Gil Evans Project Centennial , a valued member of trumpeter Dave Douglas's Quintet and Maria Schneider's Orchestra, or on his own recent impressive efforts as a leader on albums like Recommended Tools, Declaration and Perpetual Motion, watching McCaslin mature is like watching a seedling develop into a mighty oak. As with any artist who is pushing his boundaries, there are moments of brilliance and moments of disappointment, but for the most part McCaslin has consistently moved the bar higher and higher.

Dave Douglas and Donny McCaslin each say down with Grammy.com for an interview after the Detroit Jazz Festival earlier this summer. Each are celebrating new albums this month: Dave's "Be Still" is available now (at Greenleaf and iTunes, and Donny's "Casting For Gravity"hits October 2nd (preorder at Greenleaf and iTunes)