Donny McCaslin Quartet – I Need Extra

(Version Data EDNDA1219. Album evaluation by Tony Dudley-Evans)

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For listeners acquainted with Donny McCaslin’s work in his acoustic quartet, or in his key position as a soloist in Maria Schneider’s Orchestra, his newest album, I Need Extra, on Version Data comes as a shock.  The album is a hard-hitting set of music that makes full use of the probabilities of a studio recording, bringing collectively parts of jazz, improv., and electronica, all with the excessive octane vitality of rock music.  

The quartet is that which McCaslin has been working with for a few years,  Jason Lindner on synths and Wurlitzer organ, Tim Lefebvre on bass and Mark Guiliana on drums.  That is the group that David Bowie invited to play on his last album, Black Star, and the music on I Need Extra is a logical improvement of the group’s taking part in on the Black Star album.  

The important thing options of the music are obvious on the primary monitor, Stria; McCaslin saxophone sound is enhanced by a number of digital results, and this sound is built-in with the equally enhanced sounds of the synths, bass and drums to create highly effective and thrilling layers of music.  This monitor is adopted by Fly My Spaceship which supplies a touch that the music additionally goals to construct on the legacy of the Solar Ra Arkestra, however to position it in a way more intense and vibrant digital context.  

The depth drops considerably on two tracks, Maintain Me Tight and Huge Display on which McCaslin creates fairly haunting melodic strains on the saxophone.  On the latter monitor that impact is augmented by the contributions of a string quartet. The string quartet performs a extra outstanding position on Lansdown, a monitor that begins with a repetitive beat from the drums which is picked up by McCaslin on the tenor saxophone, however then enters into a brief part that includes the string quartet which in flip leads again into the repeated sample of the saxophone over the drums.  The string quartet returns and takes over the ultimate third of the monitor.

The important thing and most profitable function of the album is the best way it makes use of electronics and of manipulating the saxophone’s sound, however does so in a completely built-in manner;  that is very a lot a bunch album. It’s exhilarating to take heed to, and confirms the McCaslin quartet as a bunch that’s constructing on the legacy of its position on the Black Star album to create recent and progressive music.  

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