Saxophonist Donny McCaslin's fiercely creative quartet chosen by David Bowie to play on Blackstar, the album that would be his swansong, after he heard them in the 55 Bar one fateful New York night in 2014. Two years and an immoderate amount of mainstream press attention later, here is the 50-year-old saxophonist's heartfelt tribute to his erstwhile boss.
McCaslin and his colleagues – keyboardist Jason Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Mark Guiliana – were already the sort of voracious, open-minded musicians who were drawing inspiration from the creative end of rock'n'roll. But the time spent with Bowie has clearly marked them.
Concise, hard-edged, dark and mysterious, Beyond Now sounds like the future of music. There could be no more fitting tribute to the man who sought them out.
