Earl MacDonald and C.O.W. - CD Release Concert at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts (University of Connecticut)

Earl MacDonald and C.O.W.
(the Creative Opportunity Workshop)
CD Release Concert for "Mirror of the Mind"

Earl MacDonald – piano
Christopher Hoffman – cello
Kris Allen – saxophones
Rogerio Boccato – percussion

Pianist-composer Earl MacDonald isn’t one to rest on his laurels. His new recording, “Mirror of the Mind” embodies his ongoing search for new ways to express himself through his music, while challenging the defining boundaries of jazz. By drawing upon outside influences and incorporating cello into his ensemble palette, Earl has again achieved the element of surprise for which reviewers have called him “visionary” and “startlingly original”....

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Earl MacDonald and C.O.W.
(the Creative Opportunity Workshop)
CD Release Concert for "Mirror of the Mind"

Earl MacDonald – piano
Christopher Hoffman – cello
Kris Allen – saxophones
Rogerio Boccato – percussion

Pianist-composer Earl MacDonald isn’t one to rest on his laurels. His new recording, “Mirror of the Mind” embodies his ongoing search for new ways to express himself through his music, while challenging the defining boundaries of jazz. By drawing upon outside influences and incorporating cello into his ensemble palette, Earl has again achieved the element of surprise for which reviewers have called him “visionary” and “startlingly original”.

His last CD, “Re:Visions – Works for Jazz Orchestra” received a 2011 Canadian Juno Award nomination for “traditional jazz album of the year”. In a review for AllAboutJazz.com, Dan Bilawsky stated, “Re:Visions goes beyond where most big bands go, and establishes Earl MacDonald as a major force in the world of jazz composition”. From this album, Earl’s composition, “Bad Dream” was selected as the winner in the jazz song category of the Tenth Annual Independent Music Awards.

Earl’s Jorgensen performance with his band C.O.W. (the Creative Opportunity Workshop) will celebrate and coincide with the release of their new CD, Mirror of the Mind. Much of the music will be performed in sync with projected visual imagery and videography by artists Deborah Dancy and Ted Efremoff.

C.O.W.'s unique instrumentation (cello, saxophone, piano and percussion) was chosen as a means to escape the predictability, established parameters and creative confines found in the more typical jazz instrumentations. The combination is stunning and startlingly original.

Earl has drawn upon and amalgamated a wide spectrum of influences, including Brahms, Schumann, Earle Brown, the Beatles, folk music from various cultures, Johnny Mandel, Chick Corea, Ornette Coleman and Nat Cole. The results have lead reviewers to speculate that Earl may be forging a “new hybrid jazz form.” This is jazz like you’ve never heard before.

Visit Earl’s web site, where you can read reviews, hear and purchase music, peruse Earl’s blog, and learn more about his performances, teaching, and latest projects.

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