Reviewed by Eric Saeger
With an overabundance of alto-sax-player competition in the jazz world, Macdonald knows he has to come out of the gates wailing in this debut LP. The title track opens things in progressive dinner-jazz fashion, Macdonald and pianist David Virelles moving through its complicated, well-written melodies with aplomb. Wonky weirdness is important in this space, as anyone who’s ever heard the masters know, thus there’s a floaty-wobbly line that goes on for a bit in ‘Childhood Sympathy’, an otherwise slow-mover built for reflective insulation. More weirdness is found on ‘Figmentum II’, this time from visiting guitarist Travis Reuter, who plinks out some atonal shtick that isn’t all that bothersome. Overall an excellent example of sedate nu-bop, which one would expect from a Canadian (Macdonald is Brooklynian by way of Alberta).
Grade: A
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