#james casey

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“The Kauai Project Comes Full Circle” Looks at James Casey’s Only Solo Work

- Short film is companion to 2024 five-song EP

“I want to have left this place better than it was when I got here.”

So said saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist and singer James Casey in a 2022 interview with Andy Frasco, conducted as Casey was working on what would become his only solo release.

The conversation opens “The Kauai Project Comes Full Circle,” a short film about Casey’s work to complete his EP while receiving treatment for colon cancer.

The Kauai Project - released posthumously in August - began when Casey and his then-girlfriend and now widow, Ayla, were stuck in Hawaii during the pandemic. With time on, and instruments in, his hands, Casey laid down tracks and, after returning to New York, realized he had the seeds of a solo release.

“Three weeks later, I’m in the hospital,” with the “wrecking ball” of a stage-4 cancer diagnosis.

“When that happened, I realized I have to put something out,” he said.

Casey, the Trey Anastasio Band singer and sax man who also played with Billy & the Kids, Phil Lesh & Friends and others, died aged 40 in 2023.

“Those who have been following for a while know how much this album meant to (James),” Ayla Casey said in a statement.

“When things got rough last year, we made a pact that I’d continue with the vision. As heart wrenching as it’s been to pull it all together, your support has quite literally moved me to work through the painful process of telling this story and continues to bring light into my heart.”

10/23/24

[les-portes-du-sud]

Coucher de soleil sur le rivière

Rend belle la fin d'une chaude journée

Surtout sachant que ce soir

Nous dormirons les bras enlacés.

James Casey

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Setlist: Phil Lesh and Friends | Skull and Roses Festival Day 4 | Saturday April 22, 2023

Setlist: Phil Lesh and Friends | Skull and Roses Festival Day 4 | Saturday April 22, 2023 Phil Lesh - bass guitar, Grahame Lesh - guitar, Duane Betts - guitar, Jason Crosby - keyboards, John Molo - drums, James Casey - saxophone, Natalie Cressman - tromb

Setlist: Phil Lesh and Friends | Skull and Roses Festival Day 4 | Saturday April 22, 2023Phil Lesh – bass guitar, Grahame Lesh – guitar, Duane Betts – guitar, Jason Crosby – keyboards, John Molo – drums, James Casey – saxophone, Natalie Cressman – trombone, Jen Hartswick – trumpet Phil Lesh and Friends will also be playing later today, Sunday April 23, closing out the 5th and final day of the…

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[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Trey Anastasio Band & Friends - “Express Yourself” (Live, Nov. 6, 2023)

As the Trey Anastasio Band dug deep into the groove of “Express Yourself,” guest vocalist Alecia Chakour of the Tedeschi Trucks Band took over for the titular bandleader to deliver a shudder-worthy couple of lines.

The group was performing at the Nov. 6 celebration of life for former TAB saxophonist James Casey, who died in August, and released this number on pro-shot video. “Express Yourself” is little more than a vamp, and Anastasio sounded hoarse, but the rhythm and horn sections; Chakour; and Jennifer Hartswick, who also took a turn on the mic, added some much-needed special sauce to the mix.

Grade card: Trey Anastasio Band & Friends - “Express Yourself” (Live - 11/6/23) - B-

11/13/23

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R.I.P. James!

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Song Review: James Casey - “New Bloom”

James Casey’s omnivorous musical tendencies are all over “New Bloom.”

The sax man, who plays with the Trey Anastasio Band and Phil Lesh & Friends, melds smooth jazz and trip-hop with ocean sounds and disco strings on this mostly instrumental track. And just as the groove starts to dig a deep trench, it gives way to a symphonic interlude and Casey speak-singing:

No matter what problems come your way/you’ve got today/and no matter what happens today/you’ll be OK - poignant words inspired by Casey’s battle with colon cancer.

The track previews his full-length debut, the Kaua’i Project, an eight-track album based around “beats recorded on a 15-month stay in Hawaii, and the personal journey that followed,” per a statement. The Project serves as the followup to Casey’s 2022 holiday EP A Little Something for Everyone.

There’s no release date for the LP.

Grade card: James Casey - “New Bloom” - C

3/22/23