Marshall McDonald

I had the privilege of going to the Buffet Showroom New York City, in 2015 and play testing the new alto, and taking it home for two weeks.   I really enjoyed this alto.  It has a dark sound, reminds me of the horns Charlie Parker used to play, good intonation and a beautiful pink bronze color.   

I was a little taken aback by the cutout in the neck for the unique octave key mechanism, the horn has a special shorter design like an old style Buffet.  I got around well on the horn, and I honestly wished that…

Basie!  There's a Jazz Club in Japan called Club Basie, Count Basie himself was there every year, and I visited the club while on tour with Basie there almost every year.  A jazz promoter, who got his nickname from The Count himself, "Swifty", is being honored in this new film showing in Japan.

So much debate about who is best in jazz. It’s not a sport. But there are some Gifted ones who bring a message. They usually don’t stay long.  Armed with technique and substance, soul and swing, they say, “I can’t stay long, but I’m gonna leave this for y’all right here.”  Cannonball was one of those.    

Oscar Pettiford was upset. Jerome Richardson was late.  Somebody said that guy has a sax. Cannon didn’t want to lend his horn he said. I want to play. Oscar was pissed.  So Pettiford stomped off “I’ll…

A Very Swingin’ Basie Christmas! (Concord Records) 

Founded in Kansas City in 1935, the Count Basie Orchestra celebrates its 80th anniversary with the release of its first Christmas album. With delightful assists from guests including the Christmas mainstay Johnny Mathis, the ensemble upholds its reputation as the greatest blues-soaked big band in jazz on the ebullient if stodgy A Very Swingin’ Basie Christmas! 

The Count Basie Orchestra’s brash sound remains synonymous with Kansas City 31 years after…

This weeks blog features a player whom I respect highly- Marshall McDonald. This is a player who I would call a master artist who's woodwind and saxophone playing, history speak for themselves. Face it, the street cred Marshall has is inspiring. Marshall began his tenure with The Count Basie Orchestra under saxophonist Danny Turner in 1994 and now holds down the Lead Alto chair famously held by the great Marshal Royal. Marshall has performed concerts and jazz festivals world wide with the orchestra directed…

31.08. – Happy Birthday !!! Whether you heard him playing Lead alto during his 18 year tenure with The Count Basie Orchestra, or playing tenor saxophone with Paquito D’Rivera or baritone saxophone with Abdullah Ibrahim or clarinet solos with The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Marshall keeps the swing and dance that he learned in his hometown of Pittsburgh, at the heartbeat of his playing. 

A seasoned reedman, having played over 30 years in the New York City area, he is known for his ability to play all of the…

Kobe Jazz People

神戸での素晴しいインタビュー。日本のファンが楽しんでくれます。

コピーだけでなく独創性を。 
もっとジャズを楽しもう。 

今回ご紹介するのはMarshall Mcdonald（マーシャル・マクドナルド）さん。あの世界的に有名なビッグバンド「カウントベイシー楽団」のリードアルトサックス奏者です。昨年の山野ビッグ・バンド・ジャズ・コンテストに出展したKOBEjazzブースに遊びに来てくださったことをきっかけに交流が始まり、このインタビューが実現しました。学生や若い人に伝えたいこと、日本のことなど、様々なことを伺いました。

I've been blessed to meet, perform with, hang with some of the greatest musicians in the world. When I was young at University of Pittsburgh in the early 80's I just dreamed of maybe doing a few nice gigs.  Well, as March and April this year started kicking in, and we started to lose so many great musicians, some COVID related, others not, it caused me great pause.   I found this solo sax track that I recorded in 2008, and put these photos in it as a tribute to some of the heroes of mine that I have met…

Appreciate this time with musical-u.com Inside the Jazz Mind with Marshall McDonald

A friend of mine posted a question about the pay level of sports figures and why?  I wrote this answer and I’m sharing it. Most of y’all might not dig it. But..... 

Because predatory capitalism doesn’t care about the needs of the people, the whole concept is built on “capitalizing on each other”, that is whatever the market will pay is fair, not whether it supports our higher good. Thus sports, religion and TV are used to sedate and brainwash the masses and it’s been quite successful turning us from…