Saxophonist of David Bowie, Donny McCaslin at the 14th Jazzg Festival in Kerempuh

The 14th Jazzg Festival (Jazzg) officially began with the first free jazz concert in the center of Zagreb, featuring Tony & Guy feat. Zoran Majstorović, organized by Dražen Kokanović.

The festival continues with an attractive concert by the Donny McCaslin Quartet, which will take place on May 11 at the Kerempuh Theatre in Zagreb, and on May 13, this quartet will perform at INK Pula as part of the 5th Backstage Live Pula festival.

American jazz saxophonist, Donny McCaslin is best known as David Bowie’s saxophonist, with whom he played on his last album, Blackstar. He will be joined on stage in Zagreb and Pula by Jason Lindner on keyboards, Jonathan Maron on bass, and Zach Danziger on drums. Notably, Lindner also played on the same Bowie album and performed with Oliver Dragojević at Carnegie Hall.

Donnie McCaslin has previously performed in Croatia with his trio, which included bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez, and in 2021 with the Antonio Sanchez Quartet as part of the Backstage Live Pula festival.

McCaslin started playing at the age of 12 and as a teenager performed in his father’s vibraphone band in Santa Cruz. By high school, he had appeared multiple times at the Monterey Jazz Festival. After attending Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship, McCaslin became a sought-after player in New York. David Bowie saw McCaslin perform as a soloist for the Maria Schneider Orchestra and brought in McCaslin’s progressive jazz quartet that defined the visionary stylistic fusion of the Blackstar album. As David Hadju wrote in The Nation, ‘Donny McCaslin was David Bowie’s David Bowie.’

In turn, Bowie influenced McCaslin, leading him to blend alt-rock and jazz on his first lyric album, Blow, released in 2018.

A renowned composer and bandleader, he has received Grammy nominations throughout his career and released about ten albums, with a new album, I Want More, set to be released on June 16.

Jonathan Maron is a bassist, composer, and producer. He has released eight albums, including People People Music Music, which was nominated for a Grammy.

Maron has performed with numerous musicians, including Meshell Ndegeocello, Tupac Shakur, Shujaat Khan, Dave Douglas, Jewel, India.Arie, Anoushka Shankar, and Kurt Rosenwinkel.

Zach Danziger is one of the most popular players of the new movement that has influenced modern drumming. Zach co-led the projects Bluth and Boomish, a futuristic blend of electronic music and human performance.

Zach has also achieved success in music for numerous major films, including Ocean’s 11 and Ocean’s 12. His list of collaborators includes David Holmes, Jim Beard, U2, Bill Evans, Manic Street Preachers, Dave Fiuczynski, and Primal Scream.