Although recorded previously with my Creative Opportunity Workshop quartet, the 10tet version of this piece came first. It was composed in 2012, as part of a collaborative venture with visual artists Deborah Dancy and Ted Efremoff. I wanted to write something suggestive of Aaron Copeland – big and open sounding,…
Sordid Sort of Fellow is the second track on Earl MacDonald’s “Open Borders” album. The song includes solos by Josh Evans (trumpet), Sara Jacovino (trombone), Henry Lugo (string bass) and Earl (piano). Here is a live version to whet your whistle: When commissioned to write a piece for the 2009 Central…
Having just completed a big band commission, I thought I’d take a minute to reflect and outline my process and the arranging methods employed, before my recollections are gone forever. With some previous charts, I tried blogging about my compositional process as I worked (a play-by-play account of sorts), but…
Here’s the 2016 Massachusetts All-State Jazz Ensemble reading Cow Tippin’ in rehearsal. It documents the finished result of hours of work, writing this piece, and I’m pleased with how it turned out. Because of time constraints, we didn’t include this song in our set at Symphony Hall. However, we performed…
My weekly schedule is structured so that Fridays are dedicated solely to “creative activity.” I have no Friday classes, and do my best not to accept other appointments. I lock myself up in my office or home studio, roll up my sleeves, and work without distractions. This Friday I wrote…