Kirk MacDonald – New Beginnings

“This is a CD that bears repeated listening with satisfaction attending every hearing. While the music is often dense and detailed, there is a justness in the proportions, a balance among the solos, and a seamlessness in the ensemble that only comes when first-rate players run full-out on intuition guided by superb aural perception.” Steve Pederson CHRONICLE HERALD

“From the first notes of the rugged On The Sierra Nevada the session is hard-bop heaven…All the soloists animate the charts, turning up the improv heat as guitarist Lorne Lofsky, bassist Neil Swainson and drummer Jerry Fuller generate the glowing warmth of an open fire.” Geoff Chapman THE TORONTO STAR

Saxophonist Kirk MacDonald’s 1998 studio sessions on this Radioland CD primarily feature a septet, with the leader heard on both tenor and alto, in a program consisting of fresh originals in a post-bop setting. Accompanying the Canadian are some of his homeland’s finest jazz musicians: trumpeter and flugelhornist Rob Smith, guitarist Lorne Lofsky, bassist Neil Swainson, drummer Jerry Fuller, and pianist Brian Dickinson. His racehorse opener, “On the Sierra Nevada,” gets the band off to a flying start. The sad but hopeful tone of his ballad “Lament for a Better Tomorrow” showcases his powerful tenor and Smith’s rich-toned trumpet in a moving performance. The two quintet tracks, MacDonald’s constantly shifting “Sideways” and Swainson’s haunting “Miles From Anywhere,” omit the leader’s overdubbed alto and Smith’s presence.