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David Caceres

Popular music has known many "double threats". The ability to both play and sing has positioned numerous jazz artists for stardom, going back to Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller, on through Nat King Cole, Chet Baker, George Benson, and more current examples such as Harry Connick, Jr., Jamie Cullum, and Esperanza Spalding.

However, Houston-based vocalist/saxophonist David Caceres offers a rare combination: a soulful, emotive voice with the potential to connect with a varied adult audience and the skills as an alto saxophonist to go toe-to-toe with the best players of his generation. Indeed, Caceres's raw talent and natural charisma make him a sure bet to cross boundaries and unify audiences. Of course, this embarrassment of riches presents an obvious challenge: How can these diverse talents come together to create a focused presentation within a singular point of view? With David Caceres, this uniquely talented artist answers this question definitively and with great passion and vision.

Featuring an impressive lineup of some of New York's finest musicians, these tracks cover a wide stylistic swath without losing focus. From his deeply emotional reading of Maxwell's "Symptom Unknown" to the funkified take on Van Morrison's classic "The Way Young Lovers Do" on through the uplifting original "Sacred Path", this project signals the arrival of a major new voice in popular music.

David Caceres comes from a family with a rich musical heritage. His grandfather, jazz violinist Emilio Caceres, led a popular swing orchestra in San Antonio, Texas in the 1930's & 40's. However, to jazz fans the Caceres name is familiar due to the work of his great uncle Ernie Caceres, who played saxophone and clarinet with the Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Woody Herman big bands.

"I remember when I was about five years old, staying over at my grandparent's house, and seeing my grandfather in his tux heading out for a gig and I wouldn't see him till the next morning. I understood that my father and uncle were musicians, but it wasn't until I was around 12 that I heard the last record they did together in 1969. There was an extensive bio in it about my relatives and I used to read it all the time. Although I didn't really understand the language they were playing, I felt connected to it and the music was definitely making an impression on me."

Moreover, David's maternal grandfather, Manuel Rangel, owned a major Latin music record retailer, label, and distribution company, and his mother managed the store, called "Sound of Music," throughout his youth. He was constantly exposed to all types of music, both when he visited his mother at work and when she brought home promotional copies of the latest releases. Growing up in this environment, it's no surprise that young David found himself beginning piano studies as an eight-year old. By eleven, he picked up the alto saxophone. "Of all of the instruments, the alto seemed to most emulate the human voice and I was also intrigued by the complexity of all the keys."

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Interview

David Caceres: Double Threat Coming Forward

Read "David Caceres: Double Threat Coming Forward" reviewed by R.J. DeLuke


The singer/instrumentalist in jazz has a long and honorable tradition. Many of those, though certainly not all, are more known for their singing than playing, especially in the last 20 years or so. But almost universally, they're enjoyed for what they can do, breathing a certain joie de vivre into songs by expressing the lyrics, then augmenting them with playing that makes sense, and in some cases goes well beyond. Enter David Caceres, an alto saxophonist trained at ...

268
Album Review

David Caceres: David Caceres

Read "David Caceres" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose


Comparisons are odious, and can certainly lead to bias. Moreover, in the case of David Caceres, they simply do not capture the immense character that holds together the artistry of this astounding musician. True, Caceres channels Donny Hathaway, and can wind up closing in on the soaring falsetto of Stevie Wonder, but his phrasing is quite different. Even when he is waxing eloquent, wooing a lost love, or lamenting the end of a relationship, he does so with such strength ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

David Caceres

Sunnyside Records
2011

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