Doug MacDonald: Tribute to South Central

Doug MacDonald, who more than likely would rather play the guitar than eat, does not like to repeat himself. With more than 30 albums under his belt, that is becoming more difficult than ever. MacDonald, nevertheless, keeps tweaking the size, makeup and experience of his various groups in an effort to produce something fresh and inviting. On his 2026 recording, Tribute to South Central, MacDonald enlisted the services of five musicians with whom he had never before recorded, including his front-line partner, the veteran trumpeter Wayne Cobham, who also plays flugelhorn and flugelbone.

Together, they pay tribute to an area in south Los Angeles that was once home to a large number of jazz clubs and played host to a parade of the music's luminaries. It also served as one of MacDonald's early playgrounds alongside such stars-in-the-making as Ernie Andrews, Jack McDuff and others. This time around, he is accompanied by Cobham, pianist and organist Richard Turner, Jr., bassist Del Atkins and percussionists Eric McKain (five tracks) or Ronnie Kaufman) (three).

As to the playlist, it encompasses a half dozen of MacDonald's original compositions and one each by Wes Montgomery ("Mr. Walker") and Antonio Carlos Jobim ("Captain Bacardi"). None of the music, as far as can be determined, is endemic to the South Central area, and from that point of view, the album may as well be named Tribute to the Moon Landing. Be that as it may, MacDonald and his mates give every tune their close and undivided attention, which is more than enough to ensure its advantage.

MacDonald plays a bright and fluent guitar, using, for the most part, expressive single-note runs that are melodically precise and aesthetically pleasing. Cobham, a splendid trumpeter, uses the hybrid flugelbone once, on Jobim's rhyhmically persuasive "Bacardi," while Turner employs electric piano on MacDonald's loping "Blues in the Desert" and groovy "Luces Azules"; organ on Montgomery's rippling "Mr. Walker," and even emulates a string section on another MacDonald theme, "Self Portrait of the Bean" (a.k.a. Coleman Hawkins).

This is a tasteful album with many ingredients to recommend, not the least of which is MacDonald's endless desire to stay ahead of the curve and offer the listener something different with every visit to the recording studio.