Donny McCaslin - Declaration (2009)

Tracklist:

01-donny_mccaslin-m
02-donny_mccaslin-fat_cat
03-donny_mccaslin-declaration
04-donny_mccaslin-uppercut
05-donny_mccaslin-rock_me
06-donny_mccaslin-jeanina
07-donny_mccaslin-2nd_hour
08-donny_mccaslin-last_night_gospel


Saxophonist Donny McCaslin's last album, 2008's Recommended Tools was one of my favorite albums of last year. Stark and lean, it was a very impressive performance. This album takes a different tack, with a larger group and a focus on melody making for a more lush and full bodied sound. Besides McCaslin, the core group consists of Edward Simon on piano and organ, Ben Monder on guitar, Scott Colley on bass and Antonio Sanchez on drums. Extra brass is also added on several of the tracks. "M" opens the album with some mild guitar and piano. McCaslin's tenor saxophone builds slowly to and exciting feature, and after his extended solo, there is a piano feature before the full band comes in to finish.