Donny McCaslin

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Donny McCaslin (b. August 11, 1966, Santa Cruz, California) is an American jazz saxophonist.

McCaslin's father was a vibraphonist, and he played in his father's ensemble at the age of twelve. He had his own group in high school which played three years at the Monterey Jazz Festival. He studied under Paul Contos and Brad Hecht, both of whom played in his father's group. He played in a number of youth ensembles and toured Europe and Japan with them; he was offered a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, where he enrolled in 1984. While there he was influenced by Gary Burton, Herb Pomeroy, Billy Pierce, George Garzone, and Joe Viola. In 1987 he joined Burton's group and toured the world with him for four years.

In 1991 he moved to New York City and was a member of Steps Ahead until 1994, replacing Michael Brecker. He also played with the Gil Evans Orchestra, the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Danilo Perez, Maria Schneider, and Santi DeBriano. In 1996 he played on Ken Schaphorst's Uprising, alongside John Medeski, Doug Yates, and Uri Caine. The following year he played with David Binney, Scott Colley, and Kenny Wolleson on the collaboration Lan Xang. His first record as a leader appeared in 1998, and he has continued issuing releases under his own name into the late 2000s.