Westchester Collaborative Theater's Jazz Masters Series Presents Saxophonist Marshall McDonald Of The Count Basie Orchestra

By: Jun. 18, 2019
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Westchester Collaborative Theater's Jazz Masters Series  Presents Saxophonist Marshall McDonald Of The Count Basie Orchestra

On Saturday, July 6, Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT) continues its Jazz Masters music series with the Marshall McDonald Jazz Project featuring McDonald, a 30-year veteran of the New York jazz scene, and his band. Joining McDonald will be James Weidman on piano, Nori Naraoka on bass, and George Coleman Jr. on drums. The band will perform two sets at 7:30 and 9 pm at WCT, 23 Water Street in Ossining.

The joy and dance rhythms of the Count Basie Orchestra remain present in the music of McDonald who played lead alto in the swinging big band for almost 20 years. He also enjoyed a 10-year stint with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, performing at jazz festivals and concerts worldwide and, finally, at the Royal Jazz funeral for the maestro alongside Wynton Marsalis, Illinois Jacquet, and Cyrus Chestnut. Hampton said of McDonald, "Marshall has that pure clarinet sound! He has that sound of the symphony players!"

He toured and recorded with Paquito D'Rivera and the United Nation Orchestra for six years and can be heard on D'Rivera's Grammy-winning album Tropicana Nights, voted Best Latin Recording in 2000. Other career highlights include clarinet solos with The Duke Ellington Orchestra and performances at Carnegie Hall with Nancy Wilson, The Tokyo Blue Note with Dee Dee Bridgewater, The Nice Jazz Festival, The Monterey Jazz Festival, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. He has performed with Abdullah Ibrahim, Frank Foster's The Loud Minority, The Illinois Jacquet Big Band, The Charli Persip Supersound Band, The Bobby Caldwell Band, and The Chico O'Farrill Orchestra. He appeared with the O'Farrill Orchestra in scenes from the films The Thomas Crown Affair and Calle 54.

McDonald always keeps the swing and dance he learned in his hometown of Pittsburgh at the heart of his music. A seasoned reedman, he is known for his ability to play all saxophones and woodwinds, offering a unique approach to each instrument.

Tickets, $20 per set, can be purchased online at: https://jazzprojectwct19.brownpapertickets.com/
(limited seating available; advance purchase is strongly recommended.) Refreshments will be available.

Westchester Collaborative Theater is a multicultural, cooperative theater company located in Ossining, NY, dedicated to developing new work for the stage and bringing live theater to the community. It is comprised of local playwrights, actors, and directors who employ a Lab approach in which new stage works are nurtured through an iterative process of readings, critiques, and rewrites. When work is ready for production, it is produced for the public at various local venues.

WCT is committed to furthering theater arts in our community. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and a recipient of production grants from ArtsWestchester and New York State Council on the Arts.



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