Hailing from the vibrant Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, CA, alto saxophonist Devin Daniels stands out as one of the most unique and versatile voices to emerge from LA’s rapidly evolving creative music landscape.

Alto saxophonist Devin Daniels stands out as one of the most unique and versatile voices to emerge from LA’s rapidly evolving creative music landscape. The Inglewood (CA) native has the unique ability to fit into any musical situation without sacrificing the integrity of his individual voice.

That, combined with his warm and thoughtful personality, is why Daniels has been invited to perform with bands led by Gerald Clayton, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, John Beasley, Sam Barsh and Jamael Dean.

In 2023, the great Herbie Hancock invited Devin to join him alongside jazz legends Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Terence Blanchard, Chris Potter and LA-royalty, Kamasi Washington in a performance at the Hollywood Bowl honoring the late iconic saxophonist, Wayne Shorter.

Following this performance, Hancock invited Daniels to join his band again, this time for a month-long US tour in the Spring of 2024.

Recorded live at LA’s westside jazz club, Sam First, LesGo! captures the live, unadulterated energy from five exceptionally gifted LA-based musicians – trumpeter Julien Knowles, pianist Chris Fishman, bassist Jermaine Paul and drummer Benjamin Ring.

With an impressive list of collective performance credits that include Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, Billy Childs and Pat Metheny, it goes without saying that these incredibly talented musicians represent a very important branch of LA’s evolving music scene.

Side A:
1. LesGo! (7:07)
2. Spiral (14:14)

Putting the vinyl LP on the record player, and Side A opens the opulently organic title track LesGo!, where everyone assembled is notably up for the task of bringing their musical talents to the fore, and then we are brought forth my own personal favorite track here, the stunningly alive, elegantly jaunty, yet both emphatically scrolled and exuberantly soaring at the same time, Spiral.

Side B:
3. Reckon (6:31)
4. N**’s N** (10:50)

Flipping the lush vinyl LP over, and having been recorded on February 16th and 17th, 2024 at the aforementioned Sam First, we next get brought forth the luxuriantly sculpted, at times suave, at others playfully flirtatious, Reckon and then comes the forthright stance that drives the ten minute N**’s N**.

A track truly in and unto itself here on this recording, it is a masterpiece of the highest order; soaring, dipping, floating, glistening, shimmering, and yet at all times confidently sturdy. Also know that if you get the digital edition of this wondrous new album, be on the look out for the fifth track Him, a rather assuredly resounding track that showcases a genuine growing confidence within Daniels.

Sam First Records is the in-house label for the Westside Los Angeles jazz club, Sam First. A product of the club owner Paul Solomon and musician/artistic director David Robaire, the label is keeping the spirit of jazz moving forward in the 21st century.

Recorded using Sam First’s state-of-the-art analog to digital recording setup, then mixed and mastered in-house. The music is then pressed onto 180-gram vinyl LP and packaged in static-free audiophile rice paper sleeves with a double-sided full-bleed insert displaying the album credits and liner notes.

Vinyl packaging displays a full-bleed print of the cover photo taken by Sam First Records owner, Paul Solomon. Edition of 1,000, each copy displaying its own unique foil-stamped number.

Musicians:
Devin Daniels - alto saxophone
Julien Knowles - trumpet
Chris Fishman - piano
Jermaine Paul - basses
Benjamin Ring - drums

Devin Daniels Quintet - LesGo! (Official Video)

www.devindaniels.com

Official Purchase Link