Caroline Davis: The Saxophone Reimagined in the Fallows

Today, we're putting The Tonearm's needle on Caroline Davis, a saxophonist and composer based in New York.Her new album, Fallows, just came out on Ropeadope Records. Caroline made it alone during a residency in Ucross, Wyoming - improvising and recording in a cabin, using prepared saxophone techniques and a unique little instrument called an Organelle to process and build sounds she'd never put to tape before. The result is twelve tracks that use the saxophone as raw material rather than a lead voice.We talk about how that music got made, what it means to deliberately avoid the sound of your own instrument, and Caroline's work teaching music inside Sing Sing prison.(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Caroline Davis’s album Fallows )—Dig DeeperArtist and AlbumVisit Caroline Davis at carolinedavis.orgPurchase Caroline Davis's Fallows from Ropeadope Records, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choiceLabel and ResidencyRopeadope RecordsUcross Foundation — the Wyoming artist residency where Fallows was recordedCivitella Ranieri Foundation — the Italian residency Caroline attended in 2025Tulu Bayar — Turkish artist who made the paper artwork for Fallows (please verify link)Instruments and TechnologyThe Organelle — Critter & Guitari — the hardware synthesizer/processor central to FallowsORAC by Technobear — Patchstorage — the community-built patch framework Caroline used on the recordCollaborators, Influences, and ReferencesSteve Lacy — soprano saxophonist (1934–2004), honored in the track "Lacy Steve"Geri Allen — pianist and mentor; "Barbara Allen (for Geri)" closes the albumThích Nhất Hạnh — Vietnamese Buddhist monk; a sample of his voice appears on "She Know She Is Water"Connie Crothers — pianist from the Lennie Tristano lineage; a sample of her playing appears on "Cloudburst"Lee Konitz — Caroline's teacher; alto saxophonist (1927–2020)Sam Newsome — soprano saxophonist; prepared saxophone pioneer cited by Caroline as a major influenceChristine Abdelnour — French experimental alto saxophonist; a formative reference for prepared saxophone techniqueAnna Webber — saxophonist and composer, cited for her work with venting vocabularyJames Falzone — clarinetist whose solo tour performance is discussed in the episodeKris Davis — pianist and founder of Pyroclastic Records; cited as a touchstone for prepared pianoSylvie Courvoisier — pianist cited for her prepared piano work (please verify link)Qasim Naqvi — New York-based composer and modular synthesist; a frequent collaboratorLabels and Organizations — Current ListeningOut of Your Head Records — Adam Hopkins's artist-run label; praised in the episodePyroclastic Records — Kris Davis's artist-run label; praised in the episodeAdvocacy and JusticeMusicambia — the organization through which Caroline teaches music at Sing Sing Prison and other facilitiesFREER Records — nonprofit label for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated musicians; Caroline is on the boardKeith LaMar — keithlamar.org — death row prisoner in Ohio whose execution is scheduled for January 13, 2027; wrongfully convicted per advocatesJalil Muntaqim — political prisoner (Black Panther Party) with whom Caroline corresponded; released from prison in 2020The New School — Jazz & Gender course — co-taught by Caroline Davis and Sarah Elizabeth Charles—Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com—• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.