Donny McCaslin - Fast Future 2015

Saxophonist Donny McCaslin’s 11th release as leader, and fourth on Dave Douglas’ independent imprint Greenleaf, is well-named. Fast Future explores a newer kind of fusion, blending post-bop with breakbeats, rhythms and tones from electronica and EDM. McCaslin is known for bending apart expectations, so it’s no surprise to hear thoroughly modern music on these ten tunes (eight written or co-composed by McCaslin). Fast Future reprises McCaslin’s structure from his 2012 record, Casting for Gravity, and also utilizes the same personnel: McCaslin on tenor sax; keyboardist Jason Lindner (electric and acoustic piano; synth); electric bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Mark Guiliana. Another element which McCaslin returns to on Fast Future is intriguing covers of electronica songs. On Casting for Gravity, McCaslin effectively re-did an Aphex Twin cut, and here he sets his interpretive skills to another Aphex Twin tune, the brief and frantic “54 Cymru Beats,” which is like a mutated, free-jazz deviation. More beats are twisted on “No Eyes,” which is by Baths (the alter-ego of electronica musician Will Wiesenfeld). This edgy piece moves in several directions, from a fusion-rimmed opening; to copious horn action and Binney’s wordless melodies; to an ambient mid-section which courses with quietly simmering synth, breathy tenor sax noises, and progressive production techniques. “Underground City” is suffused with an electronic-sounding beat, created by Guiliana as he layers a vigorous rhythm and beat which goes beyond typical jazz and into drumming which is suggestive of machine-made percussion. Reggae and dub saturate “Squeeze Thru.” McCaslin and his band head into ballad territory on the plush “Midnight Light,” which has a late-evening vibe replete with beautiful, high tenor sax notes. Another melodic number is “Love What Is Mortal,” which includes evocative tenor sax, an agile groove, and an unexpected spoken-word segment. Fast Future is quite an experience. It has a malleable, nearly non-jazz tonality which is different than the norm, but wholly fits McCaslin’s aesthetic. AMG.

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