Earl MacDonald
| Earl Murray MacDonald | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
July 26, 1970 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Genres | Jazz, bebop, hard bop, post-bop, modal jazz, big band, classical, orchestral jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, arranger, conductor, musician, university professor |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Death Defying Records, Sea Breeze Jazz |
| Associated acts | Big Bop Nouveau, Hartford Jazz Society's New Directions Ensemble |
| Website | earlmacdonald |
Earl MacDonald (born July 26, 1970) is a Canadian pianist, composer, arranger, conductor, recording artist, and educator specializing in jazz. Described as "a magical, musical alchemist of hip hybrids", 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.
MacDonald was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. His father, Keith MacDonald, is an avid bagpiper who authored "The Church Piper" book series. MacDonald has one sibling, Janine Mackie, a journalist and freelance writer based in 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 also studied music theory with Francis Sanderson.
MacDonald earned a bachelor of music degree in 1992 from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he majored in jazz performance. His jazz piano teachers included Fred Henke, Luc Beaugrand and André White. 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. He apprenticed with Kenny Barron 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.
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