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 Deeper

Artist and Album

Visit Caroline Davis at carolinedavis.org
Purchase Caroline Davis's Fallows from Ropeadope Records, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choice

Label and Residency

Ropeadope Records
Ucross Foundation — the Wyoming artist residency where Fallows was recorded
Civitella Ranieri Foundation — the Italian residency Caroline attended in 2025
Tulu Bayar — Turkish artist who made the paper artwork for Fallows (please verify link)

Instruments and Technology

The Organelle — Critter & Guitari — the hardware synthesizer/processor central to Fallows
ORAC by Technobear — Patchstorage — the community-built patch framework Caroline used on the record

Collaborators, Influences, and References

Steve Lacy — soprano saxophonist (1934–2004), honored in the track "Lacy Steve"
Geri Allen — pianist and mentor; "Barbara Allen (for Geri)" closes the album
Thích 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 influence
Christine Abdelnour — French experimental alto saxophonist; a formative reference for prepared saxophone technique
Anna Webber — saxophonist and composer, cited for her work with venting vocabulary
James Falzone — clarinetist whose solo tour performance is discussed in the episode
Kris Davis — pianist and founder of Pyroclastic Records; cited as a touchstone for prepared piano
Sylvie Courvoisier — pianist cited for her prepared piano work (please verify link)
Qasim Naqvi — New York-based composer and modular synthesist; a frequent collaborator

Labels and Organizations — Current Listening

Out of Your Head Records — Adam Hopkins's artist-run label; praised in the episode
Pyroclastic Records — Kris Davis's artist-run label; praised in the episode

Advocacy and Justice

Musicambia — the organization through which Caroline teaches music at Sing Sing Prison and other facilities
FREER Records — nonprofit label for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated musicians; Caroline is on the board
Keith LaMar — keithlamar.org — death row prisoner in Ohio whose execution is scheduled for January 13, 2027; wrongfully convicted per advocates
Jalil Muntaqim — political prisoner (Black Panther Party) with whom Caroline corresponded; released from prison in 2020
The 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.

Caroline Davis: The Saxophone Reimagined in the Fallows