Across the Sky: McCaslin Finds His Footing
A tight, forward-leaning trio record from a saxophonist still shaping his own voice.
Across the Sky arrived in 2009, placing Donny McCaslin in a middle stretch of his career, after he had already built a reputation as a serious tenor and soprano player but before the wider recognition that came from his later work with David Bowie. It reads less like a manifesto than a working musician's statement, a chance to lead a band on his own terms and show what he does with a small group.
The band is a piano trio with McCaslin on saxophone, a configuration that keeps things lean. Nancy Walker on piano, John Geggie on bass, and Nick Fraser on drums give the record its forward momentum. The interplay is direct and unfussy, with McCaslin's lines moving over a rhythm section that favors propulsion over decoration. Nothing here is trying to be an event; it is a band playing together and enjoying the trade.
For a listener new to McCaslin, this is a sensible entry point into his sound as a leader rather than a sideman, though it is not the place most people will be pointed to first. It is worth hearing for the way it captures his instincts in a straightforward setting, and it makes a useful companion to his more ambitious later projects.{"essay_title": "Across the Sky: McCaslin Finds His Footing
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