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About Kirk MacDonald
Instrument: Saxophone
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by Jack Bowers
The Canadian Jazz Collective is a septet comprised of several of that country's leading jazz musicians. Trumpeter Derrick Gardner, tenor saxophonist Kirk MacDonald and guitarist Lorne Lofsky certainly need no introduction to jazz fans, in Canada or most anywhere else, nor do pianist Brian Dickinson, bassist Neil Swainson, drummer Bernd Reiter and clarinetist Virginia MacDonald. Septology, a compendium of eight songs written by Gardner, Lofsky or MacDonald, was recorded at a studio in Germany's Black Forest during a European tour ...
read moreLorne Lofsky: This Song Is New
by Friedrich Kunzmann
The liner notes to This Song is New explain how the term “old school" suits guitarist Lorne Lofsky just fine. Not in its pejorative sense, but rather in the spirit of a master of an old art, now considered to be quaint. It is indeed a fitting description for the compositions and performances that constitute the guitarist's first recording of original material in over 20 years. More a player than a composer, the former Oscar Peterson collaborator presents a strong ...
read moreLorne Lofsky: This Song Is New
by Jack Bowers
Over the years the guitar has earned a unique position in the annals of jazz. At times strident, ear-splitting and generally distasteful, at others one of the loveliest, most amiable and pleasing instruments in any circumstance, especially when placed in the capable hands of a master such as Canada's Lorne Lofsky. This is the guitar as it should be played, smooth and mellow but never without due diligence or an emphatic purpose in mind. The quartet date This Song Is ...
read moreKMJO: Common Ground
by Jack Bowers
KMJO is shorthand for the Kirk MacDonald Jazz Orchestra, and Common Ground is the third recording by the splendid Toronto-based group, following the well-received Deep Shadows (2011) and Family Suite for Large Ensemble (2012). This time around, the orchestra performs compositions by MacDonald arranged by one of Canada's premier co-pilots, Joe Sullivan. The KMJO, MacDonald asserts, is comprised of world-class musicians, an assurance that is impressively confirmed on every number, not only by the ensemble's unerring consonance ...
read moreKirk MacDonald: Symmetry
by Edward Blanco
It is no secret that Canada is the home of some of the finest jazz musicins in the world and Toronto-based saxophonist Kirk MacDonald, a long-time active educator, is one of those established stars and veteran of the Canadian jazz scene. He has appeared on over fifty albums as both a sideman and leader and Symmetry, his eleventh album as leader, which had been previously unveiled in Canada only, is now available in the U.S. and internationally for audiences everywhere ...
read moreKirk MacDonald: Symmetry
by Jack Bowers
Following two splendid albums as leader of his own big band (Deep Shadows, Family Suite for Large Jazz Orchestra), Toronto-based saxophonist / educator Kirk MacDonald has returned to a small-group format for Symmetry, the thirteenth recording on which his name has been listed atop the marquee. In this case, however, any member of MacDonald's quintet could have easily laid claim to the honor, as every one is an all-star in his own right, from the renowned trumpeter Tom Harrell, who ...
read moreKirk MacDonald Quartet: Songbook Vol. 2
by Jerry D'Souza
Saxophonist Kirk MacDonald--an exemplary player, composer, band leader and educator--has established himself as one of Canada's premier jazz musicians. His compositions are geared to mainstream jazz, but he uses several tributaries to blood them and generate nuggets of energy and rumination. MacDonald's integrity as a player is defined by his versatility. He can forge ahead and find unexpected nooks of delight that tantalize, or he can go deep into the fabric of a ballad and spin a ...
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