Earl MacDonald
Encyclopedia
Earl MacDonald is a music arranger, composer, jazz pianist and music educator. Director of jazz
studies at the University of Connecticut
, the Winnipeg
native earned a bachelor of music degree in jazz
performance at McGill University
and a master of music degree at Rutgers, where he apprenticed with Kenny Barron
. Earl is dedicated to music education
, participating as a clinician, guest conductor and teacher at summer camps, in addition to his teaching at the University of Connecticut
.
The UConn Chapter of the American Association of University Professors
honored MacDonald with its 2006 Excellence Award for Teaching Innovation. From 1998 to 2000, MacDonald was the musical director, pianist, and arranger for the Maynard Ferguson
Big Bop Nouveau
band. As music director he was responsible for programming and rehearsing this world renowned ensemble. In 2002, MacDonald won the Sammy Nestico
Award, for outstanding big band arranging. He has since been selected as a finalist for 2007 BMI / Charlie Parker
Jazz Composition Award and the 2008 ArtEZ Composition Contest in the Netherlands.
A former participant in the BMI Jazz Composers' Workshop in New York City, MacDonald is a member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN). His compositions for 17-piece jazz ensemble are featured on UConn Jazz, recorded by the University of Connecticut Jazz Ensemble in 2002, as well as his latest disc, re: Visions, which was nominated for a 2011 Juno award
in the Traditional Jazz Album of the Year category. His sextet, the Earl MacDonald 6 won first place in the 2004 Hartford Advocate Reader's Poll for "best jazz group." Their debut recording, Echoes In The Night received critical acclaim.
MacDonald currently serves as Musical Director and Composer-In-Residence for the Hartford Jazz Society’s New Directions Ensemble. Owen McNally of the Hartford Courant described the band and outlined its mission, stating “the fresh-sounding New Directions Ensemble taps into the rich lode of area talent, provides a vital forum for original compositions, spreads the good word about contemporary band music in its educational role, and provides a prominent public face for its sponsor, the Hartford Jazz Society. The New Directions Ensemble is set to swing in its own fresh way, generating contemporary band music that lives in the present, independent, cliché-free and untethered to conventional big band nostalgia.”
Selected Discography =
External links =
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
studies at the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
, the Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
native earned a bachelor of music degree in jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
performance at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and a master of music degree at Rutgers, where he apprenticed with Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
. Earl is dedicated to music education
Music education
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...
, participating as a clinician, guest conductor and teacher at summer camps, in addition to his teaching at the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
.
The UConn Chapter of the American Association of University Professors
American Association of University Professors
The American Association of University Professors is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership is about 47,000, with over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations...
honored MacDonald with its 2006 Excellence Award for Teaching Innovation. From 1998 to 2000, MacDonald was the musical director, pianist, and arranger for the Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
Big Bop Nouveau
Big Bop Nouveau
Big Bop Nouveau is a band formed in the late 1980s by the late jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. Originally composed of four trumpets, two trombones and four saxophones plus a rhythm section , it was later reduced to what has become known as the "pocket big band" format, consisting of three...
band. As music director he was responsible for programming and rehearsing this world renowned ensemble. In 2002, MacDonald won the Sammy Nestico
Sammy Nestico
Samuel "Sammy" Louis Nestico is a prolific and well known composer and arranger of big band music...
Award, for outstanding big band arranging. He has since been selected as a finalist for 2007 BMI / Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
Jazz Composition Award and the 2008 ArtEZ Composition Contest in the Netherlands.
A former participant in the BMI Jazz Composers' Workshop in New York City, MacDonald is a member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN). His compositions for 17-piece jazz ensemble are featured on UConn Jazz, recorded by the University of Connecticut Jazz Ensemble in 2002, as well as his latest disc, re: Visions, which was nominated for a 2011 Juno award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
in the Traditional Jazz Album of the Year category. His sextet, the Earl MacDonald 6 won first place in the 2004 Hartford Advocate Reader's Poll for "best jazz group." Their debut recording, Echoes In The Night received critical acclaim.
MacDonald currently serves as Musical Director and Composer-In-Residence for the Hartford Jazz Society’s New Directions Ensemble. Owen McNally of the Hartford Courant described the band and outlined its mission, stating “the fresh-sounding New Directions Ensemble taps into the rich lode of area talent, provides a vital forum for original compositions, spreads the good word about contemporary band music in its educational role, and provides a prominent public face for its sponsor, the Hartford Jazz Society. The New Directions Ensemble is set to swing in its own fresh way, generating contemporary band music that lives in the present, independent, cliché-free and untethered to conventional big band nostalgia.”
Selected Discography =
- 2010 – Earl MacDonald – re: Visions – Works for Jazz Orchestra
- Death Defying Records.
- recorded: November, 2008 at Bennett Studios, Englewood, NJ.
- features: Tim Ries, Marc Phaneuf, Ralph BowenRalph BowenRalph Bowen is a jazz saxophonist who began his career with the Blue Note Records group Out of the Blue before releasing several albums for the Dutch label Criss Cross Jazz....
, Jim Brenan, Steve Kenyon, Nick Marchione, Michael Philip MossmanMichael Philip MossmanMichael Philip Mossman is an American hard bop jazz trumpeter.Mossman's early career included a tour of Europe with Anthony Braxton in 1978 and tours with Roscoe Mitchell in the early 1980s. He also did session work in the 1980s, for Styx among others...
, Pete Rodriguez, Joe Magnarelli, Bruce Eidem, Mark Patterson, Craig Brenan, Douglas PurvianceDouglas PurvianceBorn in Baltimore, United States, Douglas Purviance began his professional career as a member of the Stan Kenton Orchestra, playing bass trombone and tuba from 1975 to 1977. He largely works as a studio session bass trombonist, and is not known for improvising. He graduated from Towson State...
, Pete McCann, Kenny DavisKenny DavisKenny Davis is an American jazz bassist.Davis released two albums as leader for Soul Note.He was also member of the Blue Note Records group Out of the Blue and has appeared on albums by Gary Bartz, Art Farmer, Don Byron, Eric Person, Michele Rosewoman, Onaje Allan Gumbs and others.Kenny is...
, & Jordan Perlson.
- 2005 – The Earl MacDonald 6 – Echoes In The Night
- SeaBreeze Records.
- features: Dick OattsDick OattsRichard "Dick" Oatts is a jazz saxophonist from Jefferson, Iowa. He became interested in saxophone due to his father Jack Oatts. To this day he still plays on the same Selmer Mark VI alto saxophone his father gave to him. He began his professional career in Minneapolis in 1972 and in 1977 he joined...
(as), Joe Magnarelli (trpt), Steve Davis (tbn), Dave Santoro (b), Tom Melito (dr). - recorded: January, 2004.
- 2004 – Maynard FergusonMaynard FergusonMaynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
– Live From the King Kat Theatre in Seattle. DVD.
- Paradise Media Partners.
- recorded: October 2, 1998
- 2004 – Treblemakers – Jazz It Up!
- Treblemakers Children's Choir, directed by Dr. Mary Ellen Junda
- 2002 – UConn Jazz, featuring Earl MacDonald with special guest Jerry BergonziJerry BergonziJerry Bergonzi is a jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator. Bergonzi received a B.A. Degree in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and is the founder of Not Fat Records....
- SeaBreeze Vista Records: SBV-4550
- recorded: April 2002.
- 1999 – Michael FeinsteinMichael FeinsteinMichael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band – Big City Rhythms
- Concord Records, Inc.: CCD-4869-2
- recorded: August 1999 at Capitol StudiosCapitol StudiosThe Capitol Studios complex opened in the Capitol Records Building, a futuristic new building in the heart of Hollywood, in 1956. It has since hosted some of the most treasured recordings in music history, from Frank Sinatra to the Beastie Boys. It is owned by Capitol Records whose parent company...
, Hollywood, CA.
- 1998 – Jim Brenan – Jim Brenan
- independent release: 3BCD-01
- 1997 – Earl MacDonald – Schroeder's Tantrum
- Radioland: RACD 10008
- features: Ralph BowenRalph BowenRalph Bowen is a jazz saxophonist who began his career with the Blue Note Records group Out of the Blue before releasing several albums for the Dutch label Criss Cross Jazz....
(ts), Kevin Dean (trpt), Mike Downes (b), Ted Warren (dr). - recorded: June 1996.
- 1994 – Kenny BarronKenny BarronKenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
– Wanton Spirit
- Verve 522 364-2.
- Kenny BarronKenny BarronKenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
(piano), Charlie HadenCharlie HadenCharles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
(bass) and Roy HaynesRoy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
(drums). - Earl MacDonald composed the title track, “Wanton Spirit”.
- recorded: February 1994.
- Nominated for a Grammy awardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
.
External links =