Langnau Jazz Nights: Thursday July 27th

Program Thursday July 27th 2017

Thursday July 27th – 10:15pm
Kuferschmiede Langnau

Donny McCaslin Group
Donny McCaslin sax, Jason Lindner keys, Nate Wood dr, Jonathan Maron b  

McCaslin & Co Known as “David Bowie’s Last Band”
– The New Yorker/WNYC

“It was like a dream except it was something I never could have dreamed of,” reflects McCaslin on working hand-in-hand with Bowie on Blackstar. “David Bowie was a visionary artist whose generosity, creative spirit, and fearlessness will stay with me the rest of my days. Beyond Now is dedicated to him and to all who loved him.”

With three GRAMMY® nominations and 11 albums to his name, McCaslin’s path to Bowie and Beyond Now can be traced back to 2011 with the release of his album Perpetual Motion, taking on an electric direction for the first time in contrast to his previous acoustic projects. Two subsequent albums Casting for Gravity (2012) and Fast Future (2015) released with his working band were directly influenced by electronica artists (covering groups such as Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, and Baths), which netted McCaslin a 2013 GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Improvised Jazz Solo.”

The once in a lifetime opportunity to work with David Bowie came after composer Maria Schneider, a longtime collaborator, recommended McCaslin and his group to Bowie. Schneider and Bowie were collaborating on the track “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime),” which featured McCaslin as a soloist. In June 2014, Bowie heeded Schneider’s advice and made a visit to hear McCaslin and company at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village. Soon after, Bowie began corresponding with McCaslin over email and sending music, forming a new collaboration and friendship that transpired through the recording of Blackstar until Bowie’s passing. The result is Beyond Now, which documents “David Bowie’s
Last Band” as they were processing both their grief and Bowie’s distinctive impact.

“This new album is an expression of that journey for all of us,” says McCaslin. “David allowed Blackstar to be what it was going to be regardless of how people might have categorized it. More than anything, it was his fearlessness in crossing musical boundaries and genres in his music and life that inspired the risks I’m taking in Beyond Now. I am indebted to Bowie for showing me the risks and rewards of going for your uncompromising musical vision.”

www.donnymccaslin.com 

Thursday July 27th – 08:30pm
Kupferschmiede Langnau

Huntertones
Dan White ts, Jon Lampley tr/sousaphone, Chris Ott tb/beatbox, Josh Hill g, Adam DeAscantis eb, John Hubbell dr


“Huntertones make great, timeless music that everybody will groove to. They’re original. They’re inspired. And they’re motivated.” — Rust Magazine

Huntertones is a high energy horn-driven band founded in Columbus, OH and currently based in Brooklyn, NY. The band’s signature sound comes from adventurous original compositions and arrangements that meld jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, R&B, and rock - all written by the band’s frontmen, Jon Lampley, Chris Ott, and Dan White. In addition to covering a wide range of genres, the group is known for its ability to shift from a dynamic six-piece ensemble to an unconventional trio featuring saxophone, sousaphone, and beat-boxing.

Huntertones started off 2016 with a month-long American Music Abroad tour of Bermuda, Ecuador, Togo, and Zimbabwe. They were selected by the U.S. Department of State and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to serve as musical ambassadors and engage with international audiences, students and local artists from around the globe. Other recent performances include appearances at major U.S. and international jazz festivals, most notably at the Columbus Jazz and Rib Fest, Rochester Jazz Festival, and Toronto Jazz Festival, as well as a show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.

In November 2015 the Huntertones released their first self-titled EP, mixed by Grammy Award winning engineer Bassy Bob (Herbie Hancock, Soulive, Brian McKnight).

Individually, members of Huntertones have compiled a diverse resume of collaborations with top artists in the pop, jazz, soul, and musical theater worlds. This includes work with Snarky Puppy, Jon Batiste and Stay Human, O.A.R., Andy Grammar, Allen Stone, Phillip Phillips, Ricky Martin, Umphrey’s McGee, Red Baraat, Eric Krasno, Fred Wesley, Rashawn Ross, Jeff Coffin, Micky Dolenz, Hadden Sayers, Lew Soloff, Sean Jones, Felix Pastorius, Tony Monaco, Byron Stripling, Bobby Floyd, and Christian Howes; Tony winners Norbert Leo Butz, and Lena Hall; and ensembles such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, the national tour of Guys and Dolls, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and many others.

www.huntertones.com 

Video: Huntertones - Anvil (Live)