Earl MacDonald

Earl MacDonald (born July 26, 1970) is a Canadian jazz composer, pianist, arranger, conductor, and educator. MacDonald's compositional work frequently draws upon other musical styles, fusing them with jazz. The Winnipeg native has been employed as director of jazz studies at the University of Connecticut since the fall of 2000.

Early years

MacDonald was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. His father, Keith MacDonald, was a bagpiper who authored "The Church Piper" book series. MacDonald has one sibling, Janine Mackie, a previous journalist and now real estate professional in South Surrey, British Columbia.

MacDonald began taking music lessons at age five, starting on electronic organ. As a teenager he earned money playing the organ for Winnipeg Jets hockey games (1985-1988). He attended Silver Heights Collegiate Institute, where his high school stage band was nationally recognized, winning "Most Outstanding" and Gold awards at the 1988 MusicFest Canada competition. Also during high school, MacDonald began taking classical piano lessons with Darrel Loewen and Shirley Kwok at the Manitoba Conservatory for Music and Arts. He studied music theory with Francis Sanderson.

Education and career MacDonald received his bachelor of music in 1992 from McGill University of Montreal, Canada, where he majored in jazz performance. He studied arranging with Christopher Smith, composition with Jan Jarczyk, and improvisation with trumpeter Kevin Dean.

MacDonald's graduate studies spanned 1993 to 1995 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. who recorded MacDonald's composition, "Wanton Spirit" while he was still a graduate student. The song was released as the title track of Barron's Grammy-nominated CD with Roy Haynes and Charlie Haden. At Rutgers, MacDonald studied arranging with Michael Philip Mossman and played in ensembles under the direction of Ralph Bowen.

MacDonald has participated in the BMI Jazz Composers' Workshop under the direction of Jim McNeely, Michael Abene and Mike Holober. He also attended the Summer Jazz Workshop in Banff, Canada in 2001, and has audited conducting courses at UConn with Dr. Jeffrey Renshaw.

Maynard Ferguson and Big Bop Nouveau MacDonald joined Maynard Ferguson's touring band in 1998, following a one-year teaching appointment at Bowling Green State University. He worked with Ferguson for two years, performing across North America, Europe and Asia. One studio album was recorded during MacDonald's tenure with Ferguson: "Big City Rhythms", a collaboration with singer Michael Feinstein. Video recordings of several concerts have been publicly released, including MacDonald's second performance with the band, which was released on DVD as "Maynard Ferguson - Live from the King Cat Theatre" (in Seattle, WA).

MacDonald's bandmates with Ferguson included: trumpeters Carl Fischer, Scott Englebright, Adolfo Acosta, Michael Bogart, Brian Ploeger, Thomas Marriott, Frank Abrahamson & Pete Ferguson trombonists Rodney Lancaster, Mike Bravin, Kelsley Grant & Reggie Watkins saxophonists Mike Dubaniewicz, Jeff Rupert, Mike MacArthur, Kelly Jefferson & Jim Brenan bassists Paul Thompson, Nathan Peck & Brian Stahurski drummers Dave Throckmorton & Brian Wolfe

In 1999, upon the departure of bassist Paul Thompson, Ferguson appointed MacDonald musical director of Big Bop Nouveau. As musical director, MacDonald rehearsed the ensemble, selected performance repertoire, made personnel recommendations and wrote musical arrangements.

In the lineage of Ferguson's pianists, MacDonald succeeded Ron Oswanski. Following MacDonald's departure in 2000, Ferguson hired Bryn Roberts and later Will Bonness, both of whom were MacDonald's former students from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Teaching MacDonald taught at St. Francis Xavier University from 1996 to 1997 and at Bowling Green State University from 1997 to 1998, before joining the University of Connecticut faculty in 2000 as Director of Jazz Studies. He was promoted to full professor in 2016.

At UConn he teaches courses on improvisation and arranging, while also directing student ensembles and administering the jazz program. He was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 2005. MacDonald frequently participates as a clinician, guest conductor and teacher at summer camps. In recent years he has taught at the Kincardine Summer Music Festival, Jazz In July at UMASS Amherst and Marshall University's "Jazz-MU-Tazz" camp in West Virginia.

Awards, nominations and recognition

Professional 2003: Sammy Nestico Award, for outstanding big band arrangement, sponsored by the USAF 2003: Artist Fellowship, Connecticut Commission on the Arts 2004: Best Jazz Group, Hartford Advocate's Reader's Poll (the Earl MacDonald 6) 2003: Parent's Choice Award for "Treblemakers Jazz It Up" CD. 2007: Finalist, Charlie Parker/BMI Jazz Composition Award 2008: Finalist, ArtEZ Jazz Composition Contest, the Netherlands 2009: Artist Fellowship, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism 2011: JUNO award nomination for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year 2011: 10th Annual Independent Music Awards, winner, jazz song category 2011: Best Jazz Group, Hartford Advocate readers' poll (New Directions Ensemble) 2011: Finalist, ArtEZ Jazz Composition Contest, the Netherlands 2014: JUNO award nomination for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year

Academic 2003: AAUP Excellence Award for Teaching Promise 2004: New Scholar Award, School of Fine Arts, University of Connecticut 2006: AAUP Excellence Award for Teaching Innovation 2011: UConn School of Fine Arts Special Achievement Award 2013: UConn School of Fine Arts Outstanding Faculty Award

Musical ensembles

Jazz Orchestra (Big Band)

MacDonald has released two albums of his compositions and arrangements for 17-piece jazz orchestra (big band): "UConn Jazz" (2002) and "Re:Visions - Works for Jazz Orchestra" (2010). The latter received a Juno Award nomination for traditional jazz album of the year in 2011. Reviewer, Dan Bilawsky asserted, "Re:Visions goes beyond where most big bands go and the music here establishes Earl MacDonald as a major force in the world of jazz composition."

MacDonald's big band arrangements are published through eJazz Lines.

C.O.W. (Creative Opportunity Workshop)

In 2013 MacDonald released an album with the unorthodox instrumentation of cello, saxophone, percussion and piano. MacDonald said, "This band, the Creative Opportunity Workshop, was formed to serve as a personal playground for experimentation and fusions." The CD, "Mirror of the Mind" received a JUNO award nomination for contemporary jazz album of the year and a garnered many favorable reviews.

New Directions Ensemble

MacDonald currently serves as Musical Director and Composer-In-Residence for the Hartford Jazz Society's New Directions Ensemble. The group's instrumentation consists of 2 trumpets, 1 trombone, 1 French horn, 3 saxophones (1 alto, 1 tenor, 1 bari), piano, bass and drums. Owen McNally of the Hartford Courant described the band and outlined its mission, stating "the fresh-sounding New Directions Ensemble taps into the rich lode of area talent, provides a vital forum for original compositions, spreads the good word about contemporary band music in its educational role, and provides a prominent public face for its sponsor, the Hartford Jazz Society. The New Directions Ensemble is set to swing in its own fresh way, generating contemporary band music that lives in the present, independent, cliché-free and untethered to conventional big band nostalgia."

Discography

Albums as leader

Title Year Label Schroeder's Tantrum 1997 Radioland UConn Jazz 2002 SeaBreeze Vista The Earl MacDonald 6 2005 SeaBreeze re:Visions 2010 Death Defying Records Mirror of the Mind 2013 Death Defying Records

Recorded collaborations YrRelease title Primary artist(s) RoleCertifications 1994 Wanton Spirit Kenny Barron, Charlie Haden, Roy Haynes composer of title track Grammy-nominated 1998 Jim Brenan Jim Brenan arranger 1999 Big City Rhythms Michael Feinstein with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band piano

Personal life

Currently, MacDonald lives in Mansfield, CT with his wife, Jana (née Smith). The couple were married in 2003 in South Windsor, CT. Together they have two young children.