Donny McCaslin On The Rock Influences For His New Jazz LP ‘Lullaby For the Lost’

On the surface, a jazz album inspired by guitar-driven rock and punk may seem out of the ordinary. But on tenor saxophonist and composer Donny McCaslin’s latest album, Lullaby for the Lost, the seemingly contrasting styles represent two sides of the same coin, and the result is something quite forceful and exhilarating.

“The things I was listening to — Neil Young, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, amongst other things — sort of coalesced as I was writing the music,” says the New York City-based McCaslin, who is best known to mainstream audiences for his collaboration with David Bowie on the latter’s final album, 2016’s Blackstar.

Released last month via Edition Records, Lullaby for the Lost is McCaslin’s 14th album as band leader. It features bassists Tim Lefebvre (who also produced the album) and Jonathan Maron; drummers Zach Danziger, Nate Wood and Mark Guiliana; keyboardist Jason Lindner; and guitarists Ben Monder and Ryan Dahle (Lefebvre, Guiliana, Lindner and Monder also played on Blackstar). The origins of Lullaby for the Lost can be traced to a song that McCaslin had recorded for his 2023 album, I Want More, but didn’t end up on it.

“It sat there for a while and [I was] debating what to do with it,” McCaslin recalls. “Tim Lebfvre and I wrote it together. And so at a certain point, he took over the production and added guitars. We got to a certain point where it felt ready.

“We sent it to [engineer] David Fridmann, and then he delivered this mix that was just sort of transcendent. For me, that was a moment of clarity of the direction of the new record, which was, in a way, a little more stripped down, guitar-heavy, and leaning much more into this rock-punk aesthetic.”

An example of that musical approach is the haunting “Wasteland,” which opens the new album and showcases McCaslin’s darting yet mellifluous sax playing. He says that Young’s performance of “Rockin’ in the Free World” on Saturday Night Live from 1989 inspired “Wasteland.”

“That performance is so primal, and there’s that punk energy,” McCaslin says.” And I wanted to write something that would allow exploring that kind of energy, which is the energy that we get to when we play live sometimes, but doesn’t always happen. “Tokyo Game Show” [also from the new album] would be another example of a song that was trying to set the table for us to get into that space. Everything just played out pretty organically because it was a team of people that I’ve been working with for a long time…That all came to play, too, as the aesthetic has changed and it’s leaning more into this hybrid that I was describing. Everybody who’s been a part of it understands the musical language, and they’re all helping to bring it to bear, so to speak.”

The energetic and urgent mix of jazz and rock unfolds over the course of Lullaby for the Lost as heard on the dreamy “Solace” and “Celestial,” the ska-like punk of “Blond Crush,” and the minimalist electro-funk-meets-metal guitar of “KID.” But there are some meditative numbers in between, such as the aptly titled “Stately,” which McCaslin says was inspired by the production work of Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on pop singer Halsey’s 2022 album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power.

“They did a great job producing that record,” he says of Reznor and Ross. “I wore that thing out. There’s a kind of chord progression that’s not unique to that record. It’s something that I hear also on some Nine Inch Nails stuff — the relationship between the root, the natural three and the flat three, and this playing with the natural third and the flat third. And who doesn’t love that sound? So I think that was in there.

“I was at the keyboard and I started playing with it. And then in the case of “Stately,” that is the primary root movement, except it modulates a lot. In “Stately,” it goes through — I can’t remember how many key centers or whatever. It doesn’t really matter, but it moves. The impetus of the song was that vibe of that movement. It went from there.

The slow-burning “Mercy,” another introspective-sounding track that concludes the album, evokes Middle Eastern influences. “I was following the news about the tragic situation in the Middle East,” he says. “That’s really what I was hearing. So the body of the song was that.” And the album’s foreboding title track, which echoes elements of Red-era King Crimson, again highlights McCaslin’s powerful playing amid rock guitar and sweeping drumming. “The song came from Le Noise, the Neil Young record [from 2010]. That first track, “Walk With Me,” the guitar sound — the story is that [producer Daniel] Lanois had walls of amps in his house. So I was just so compelled by that sound.

“For the [new album’s] title, I think of books that I love reading — whether it’s Steinbeck or Barbara Kingsolver — when you have these multiple themes and storylines that connect. I felt like that title has multiple meanings. I could cite events in my life that are connected to that title. It’s open for interpretation. I think everybody can have their own sort of reaction to it and storyline with it. That was the idea. Something that felt authentic to me, but also had a bigger scope.”

Lullaby for the Lost finds McCaslin on another creative roll following his work on Bowie’s Blackstar, beginning with 2018’s Blow, which was McCaslin’s first album with lyrics. “It was a life-changing experience for my career, of course, for all of us who were involved,” McCaslin says of Blackstar. “But then, also just personally and creatively, it was so affirming, that whole experience. David embodied a lot of these ideals that I’d always strove for: having the courage to go the unexpected route; to go down the path not knowing where it’s going to lead but trusting that it’s going to lead somewhere interesting.

“So that was really what led to Blow, for example. It wasn’t a conscious decision — ‘Oh, I want to make a record with singers or like Blackstar.’ It was more, ‘Okay. I’m playing all this instrumental music. I’m hearing something different. What is it?’ My manager, Steven Saporta, connected me with Steve Wall, who’s a great visionary producer and engineer. And then we started talking and we started listening. Then it sort of ultimately led to songwriting together.”

Leading up to Blow, McCaslin wasn’t sure what the role of the saxophone would be for that record. “But I’m trusting the process,” he adds. “And it worked out in a way that I felt really good about. It was a major turning point for me in my life and personally.”

McCaslin will be in Europe for a run of shows to promote Lullaby for the Lost with his band featuring Lefebvre, Lindner and Danziger starting on Oct. 13. “This summer, I played a few festivals in France, mentoring a French band,” he says. “They’re called Ishkero. They’re from Paris, really good musicians. We ended up playing a lot of the stuff from the new record. Not primarily, but I was able to play it at Jazz a la Villette, Jazz à Vienne, and the festival in Coutances. So I’ve been able to play maybe three or so shows with the material. But this will be the first one with the guys in October.”

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidchiu/2025/10/11/donny-mccaslin-on-the-rock-influences-for-his-new-jazz-lp-lullaby-for-the-lost/