Doug Macdonald Beautiful Friendship CD

Doug MacDonald is very much a laid-back mainstream jazz guitarist along the lines of Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, and Herb Ellis. Built for comfort instead of speed, MacDonald emphasizes single line melodies, and that method lends toward simplicity of purpose and execution. It reflects the elders he admires, but is restrained and refined to the point of aligning more with the West Coast cool school of horn players. MacDonald has chosen a few hip themes as Hank Mobley's tuneful melody "Funk In Deep Freeze," the well wrought standard "'Tis Autumn," and a flexible take on "Spanish Eyes." The last track, "Serenata," reminds one why this grand neglected standard deserves more attention, as MacDonald reveals. A little Brazilian flavor à la Charlie Byrd crops up during "L.R.," or the simmering bass lead courtesy of Lou Shoch on "Samba de Orfeo." There's a witty waltz take of "I'll Take Romance," a unison guitar/bassline, cooked rare, on the swing blues original "Mr. B's," and a very patient version of the title track. MacDonald sounds anxious and rushed, an atypical stance for him, only on his bop composition "The Mall Blues." Otherwise it's a pleasant effort from a veteran guitarist who knows his influences cold, and consistently plays to his strong suit. ~ Michael G. Nastos

Doug MacDonald is an unpretentious guitarist whose foreground and background playing deliver equal doses of "beautiful, bell-clear sounds and a sure-footed sense of swing" (Zan Stewart, jazz journalist). That's the nutshell version from a writer known for his economical way of saying a lot.Doug's trio/quartet CD, "Gentle Rain" on Sea Breeze Records, has received airplay on jazz stations around the world and is currently on the jazz charts. The discography lists songs and personnel.The band has recently completed another recording, which should be released later this year (2007).In his eighth recording, TURN, on Sea Breeze Jazz, MacDonald focuses on his composing/arranging skills and introduces non-traditional instrumentation in the form of a 13-piece ensemble, "The Jazz Winds/Brass Coalition," to showcase his and other writers' music.This bigger-band work was the next natural step for the veteran player's growth, culminating years of composition studies about which he has become increasingly passionate. In his own liner notes, he refers to the CD repertoire as an effort to "create a body of work that explores a wide spectrum of colors and forms," explaining that "while there exists jazz swing on certain tracks, other pieces travel from tonal to atonal sections with Latin and/or eighth note rhythms-an adventure where the listener will discover new 'turns' of musical form and expression," thus the title tune. Jazz journalist Jim Santella, in reviewing the CD, calls the title tune "a journey through Jazz's history and toward its future development," adding: "Without growth, anything would become commonplace and ordinary. Doug ensures that jazz has a place to turn to that allows for change without sacrificing tradition." Likewise, critic/columnist Harvey Barkan says that MacDonald "has opened a new window for fresh ideas with an irresistible effervescent feel of swing."Previous to the 13-piece band, MacDonald fronted and recorded a nine-piece brass and rhythm assembly of several of the same members of this new group. Called Warm Valley (Resurgent Music RM111), it featured arrangements by trumpeter Buddy Childers, Lou Forestieri and Jimmie Dykes, who shares the composing/arranging spotlight with MacDonald on "Turn."And so it has gone over the years. Increasing the numbers in his performance groups and augmenting the instrumentation and sounds have become the trademark MacDonald way of climbing the jazz ladder- from soloist to trio leader to writer and front man on today's impressive non-traditional combo of masterful players, a jazz/classical hybrid big band that swings.A longtime Los Angeles-based guitarist, MacDonald was born in Philadelphia and raised in Honolu