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Doug MacDonald: Overtones
by Jack Bowers
The term “all-star" is not one to be used lightly. Be that as it may, the appellation fits guitarist Doug MacDonald's Los Angeles-based octet as snugly as a glove; he and his colleagues are among the finest, most experienced and in-demand musicians on the West Coast. On Overtones, recorded in September 2021, the ensemble shows its mastery by gracefully skating through seven of MacDonald's upbeat themes and one standard, Ram Ramirez' ardent “Lover Man." Three of MacDonald's ...
Continue ReadingNica Carrington: Times Like These
by Pierre Giroux
Intrepid may be the best word to use to describe the singer Nica Carrington's self-produced debut album. Not many months before recording it, Nica, who had been taking voice lessons, came across the highly regarded Los Angeles based pianist, arranger, and jazz voice instructor John Proulx, who thought that she showed such promise that he was willing to produce her first release. Wanting to do everything to provide the framework for success, Proulx brought along two esteemed and seasoned jazz ...
Continue ReadingDoug MacDonald: Overtones
by Richard J Salvucci
Some of you may well remember Arthur Conley's 1967 chart-topper, “Sweet Soul Music." The lyrics began with the imperishable line, “Do you like good music?" That may resonate with listeners of a certain age, because Overtones: Doug MacDonald and the L.A. All Star Octet certainly qualifies as “good music." What is it about West Coast stuff inflected with Birth of the Cool? It somehow never gets old, even when a listener thinks, “Hmm. There may not be anything new here, ...
Continue ReadingDoug MacDonald: Overtones
by Edward Blanco
Los Angeles-based guitarist Doug MacDonald just happens to be one of the most active recording musicians in the country, with three releases in 2021 alone and at least two more dating back to 2019. Add to that list, this 2022 recording of Overtones and you can understand MacDonald's devotion to producing music as evidenced by his large discography. A prolific composer, MacDonald's eight-track repertoire consist almost entirely of original compositions, with the only exception being a fine rendition of Ram ...
Continue ReadingDoug MacDonald and the L.A. All-Star Octet: Overtones
by Jack Bowers
Doug MacDonald's mind is as active as his fingers. The Los Angeles-based guitarist divides his time between writing and playing, and he writes as well as he plays, which is impeccably. Overtones, on which he leads an All-Star Octet (we checked, and all-star is precisely the proper term), is MacDonald's fourth album in the last year or so and twentieth-plus over-all. As is generally the case, most of the songs are his (seven of eight), and they are consistently bright ...
Continue ReadingChris Standring: Wonderful World
by Richard J Salvucci
Many years ago, there was a radio station, WJBR, broadcasting from Wilmington, Delaware. The call sign stood for Just Beautiful Radio and that was precisely what you got. No-one called it easy listening or anything like that--it was the early 1960s--but listeners got a predictable dose of Percy Faith, Ray Conniff, Frank Chacksfield, nothing too challenging. The announcers had a predictable style as well—modulated, mellow, reassuring. In those days, with the possibility of nuclear war never far from anyone's mind, ...
Continue ReadingChris Standring: Wonderful World
by Pierre Giroux
Chris Standring is a Los Angeles-based contemporary jazz guitarist who was originally raised in Buckinghamshire, England. He has always had an itch to record an album of standards and that was scratched with the release of Wonderful World . Through the marvels of technology, Standring was able to record the trio tracks in several locations in California with some bold face names such as Peter Erskine, Chuck Berghofer and Randy Brecker, while the orchestral input was arranged and conducted by ...
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