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Jazz Articles about Kirk MacDonald

About Kirk MacDonald

190

Album Review

Kirk MacDonald Quartet: Songbook Vol. 2

Read "Songbook Vol. 2" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
April 26, 2011

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 ...

300

Album Review

Kirk MacDonald Quartet: Songbook Vol. 1

Read "Songbook Vol. 1" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
December 27, 2009

Kirk MacDonald first recorded when he was 13. Since that time he has gone on to establish his reputation as one of Canada's finest saxophone players. Over the years, Macdonald has played as a sideman and has led his own bands which have varied in size, the biggest being the 19-piece Kirk MacDonald Jazz Orchestra. The wide angle of the situations he plays in has given him a perspective that is both perspicacious and judicious, opening a field that he ...

172

Album Review

Kirk MacDonald: The Atlantic Sessions

by John Sharpe
August 1, 1998

Kirk MacDonald was raised in Nova Scotia and now resides in Toronto. On this date, his third as a leader, he has assembled a fine group of Canadian jazz stars that includes Lorne Lofsky (guitar), Neil Swainson (bass) and Jerry Fuller (drums). They perform a program split between MacDonald originals and some well-known standards. Kirk is a fiery, fleet improviser whose hard tenor tone is nicely balanced by Lofsky’s restrained solos and mellow comping. MacDonald’s adventurous spirit is fully displayed ...

121

Album Review

Various Artists: The Power of Beauty: A Tribute to Stan Getz

Read "The Power of Beauty: A Tribute to Stan Getz" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 1, 1998

For the third in its ongoing “tribute" series (the first two honored Oscar Peterson and Wes Montgomery), Radioland Records engaged the services of half a dozen of Canada's finest tenor saxophonists and asked each of them to compose a tune to articulate his impression of the late Stan Getz's virtuosity and to record a second piece that exemplifies Stan's stylistic diversity and range. The Power of Beauty is a natural title for such an endeavor, as Getz was ...