Donny's Latin Jazz Disc . . .
Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 04/27/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
". . . certainly his finest effort to date.
Here's an entirely accomplished jazz tenor saxophonist who's never, until now, fully realized his huge potential.
Well, I'm here to tell you that he's finally done it. With Soar, he puts to rest any lingering sense that he may never achieve the heights gained by the top practioners of his peculiar art.
He's been edging toward this magnificence with his last several discs, but fully committing to Latin jazz seems to have been the right move for this prodigiously talented jazzman. He reminds me, somewhat, of Dave Binney, the brilliant alto saxist, who has struck it big with Free to Dream, Welcome to Life, and South--all in the Latin mode. On this disc, McCaslin smartly recruits such Latin standouts as vocalist Luciana Souza, drummer Antonio Sanchez, percussionist Pernell Saturnino, and trombone player Luis Bonilla to create a wonderfully evocative South-of-the-border sensibility. Throw in Orrin Evans (piano) and Ben Monder (guitar), players one doesn't automatically identify as Latin icons but who marvelously intuit that vibe, and you've got a band of huge suggestiveness.
Top tunes include the huge evocative "Hero as a Boy," with its mesmeric repetitive figure, "Tanya," a (w)ringing statement of purely primitive emotion, and the title track, "Soar," with its percussive drive, intricate doubling of sax and trumpet, and lilting piano figurers.
Make no mistake: true magic's going down here.
Ignore at your own risk."
Why isn't he more famous?
Daniel Akst | Hudson Valley | 07/03/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Extraordinarily fresh and pleasing Latin-infused music by a virtuoso saxophonist who deserves to be far better known. Highly recommended."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1