Doug MacDonald: Sextet Session

Guitarist Doug MacDonald records albums like someone who is either making up for lost time or does not have much time to spare. According to his discography, Sextet Session is at least the thirty-second album MacDonald has led or co-led, almost half of which have been released in the past couple of years or so. To keep things fresh, MacDonald has performed with almost every size group from big band to duo, but not often with as sharp and experienced a front line as this one.

MacDonald is aided and abetted melodically by tenor saxophonist Doug Webb, trumpeter Aaron Janik and pianist Josh Nelson, with the rhythm component in the capable hands of bassist Mike Gurrola and drummer Charles Ruggiero. Besides playing straight-on guitar in the boppish manner of such masters as Tal Farlow, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel and others, MacDonald is a splendid composer, and his clever charts (he wrote six of the album's eight numbers) are for the most part strong and engaging.

The outliers are the venerable standards "You've Changed" and "Whispering," on which the sextet comes full circle by presenting the true melody of the theme used by Dizzy Gillespie as the basis for the jazz standard "Groovin' High." MacDonald also likes to affix clever titles to his songs, as witness "Gee's Flat," "Try Ads" or the generally dark and esoteric "Si Miner" (which consumes almost one-fourth of the album's forty-six minute running time).The others are the opening "Desert Blues," "AT #33" and the light-hearted finale, "Bubbles in the Wine" (whose melody may kindle memories of the late Lawrence Welk—MacDonald borrows liberally from Welk's iconic theme song—but whose changes are based on the standard "Pennies from Heaven").

One key to producing a successful album is to recruit blue-chip soloists, and MacDonald has clearly hit that nail on the head. Webb, Janik and Nelson are about as proficient as they come, while Gurrola and Ruggiero more than hold their own whenever called on. Soloists are rotated on every number, and MacDonald has "You've Changed" to himself. Janik is perhaps most impressive on "Whispering" (played as a bossa), Webb on the groovy "Desert Blues" and robust "Try Ads" (on which Janik adds another strong statement). As for Nelson and the leader, each of their solos is impressive.

MacDonald keeps churning out albums, and so long as the standard remains this high, long may he continue to do so. Sextet Session is another in a series of well-above-average sessions drawn up by MacDonald and whomever he chooses as his companions.