In 1962, tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins recorded The Bridge with a pianoless quartet that co-starred guitarist Jim Hall. If John Coltrane had been the saxophonist instead, it might have sounded something like tenor man Kirk MacDonald's recent KOCH CD.Not that MacDonald is merely a Coltrane clone, but that strong influence can be accurately used as a frame of reference.MacDonald, who also has some Rollins in his sound, is in consistently inventive form on five of his originals, bassist Neil Swainson's In Case You Haven't Heard and four standards - East of the Sun, Lover Man, You Go To My Head and Bill Evans' Turn Out The Stars. Most of the leaders original tunes have catchy melodies and fairly basic chord changes that act as viable vehicles for some strong jamming.With drummer Jerry Fuller and Swainson offering stimulating support and the cool-toned guitarist Lorne Lofsky recalling Jim Hall in spots, MacDonald creates solos with his Canadian quartet that have their unpredictable moments while always swinging.In some ensembles, he plays two tenors at once, possibly via overdubbing; nothing is said in the liner notes about the extra horn. Overall this is a strong, hard bop date that finds Kirk MacDonald (a player who deserves to be much better known) in prime form.

Scott Yanow

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