It has been my contention that the most valuable viewpoints come
from those who do. Thus, it’s logical to assume that any artist who is
surviving in this field, and doing it with success, is doing something
right.
The energies we all put into our craft; The years of apprenticeship and
the intense commitment to the horn, and the pure love of playing it are
paramount to the art form. This section of my D'Addario Woodwinds Blogs by Tim Price,
to all intents and purposes is a sort of portable omnibus of sax /
woodwind creations. Musically, verbally and spiritually. The music these
players create and talk about is a privilege to be a part of. The music
always has an infinite history and fertility, inexhaustible vitality,
and at the same time, a seductive power of temptation - which inspires
all of us who play – and offers the open-ended invitation to create as
much as we can. The results, the waiting, the practicing at all hours,
the talking of the music and constant study gives the music a breath of
spirit, endless in motion and evolution.
This weeks blog features a player whom I respect highly- Marshall McDonald. This is a player who I would call a master artist who's woodwind and saxophone playing, history speak for themselves. Face it, the street cred Marshall has is inspiring. Marshall began his tenure with The Count Basie Orchestra under saxophonist Danny Turner in 1994 and now holds down the Lead Alto chair famously held by the great Marshal Royal. Marshall has performed concerts and jazz festivals world wide with the orchestra directed by Frank Foster, Grover Mitchell, and Bill Hughes and Dennis Mackrel.
This weeks blog features a player whom I respect highly- Marshall McDonald. This is a player who I would call a master artist who's woodwind and saxophone playing, history speak for themselves. Face it, the street cred Marshall has is inspiring. Marshall began his tenure with The Count Basie Orchestra under saxophonist Danny Turner in 1994 and now holds down the Lead Alto chair famously held by the great Marshal Royal. Marshall has performed concerts and jazz festivals world wide with the orchestra directed by Frank Foster, Grover Mitchell, and Bill Hughes and Dennis Mackrel.
Marshall’s unique ability to play all of the saxophones,
clarinet and flute has led to recordings and world tours with The Lionel
Hampton Orchestra, Paquito D’Rivera and the United Nation Orchestra,
Frank Foster and The Loud Minority Big Band, The Chico O’Farrill
Afro-Cuban Orchestra, The Illinois Jacquet Big Band, The Duke Ellington
Orchestra and Charli Persip and Supersound. Marshall has played every
sax chair except baritone in the Basie Band, he has played every chair
including baritone sax in the Lionel Hampton Band, and played and
recorded on alto, tenor and baritone sax with Paquito D’Rivera, and was
often found switching from the Lead Alto chair of the Charli Persip band
to the Tenor chair when needed.
Marshall has also performed with
The Bobby Caldwell Orchestra as the opening act for Vanessa Williams.
McDonald has performed in Broadway shows, including clarinet in JELLY’S
LAST JAM, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, Clarinet and Flute in the 1998
production of STREETCORNER SYMPHONY and in 1999 he performed on stage in
the musical KAT AND THE KINGS. He was an orchestra member of THE
MEETIN’ by Pamela Baskin-Watson and Bobby Watson.
In addition,
Marshall has played woodwinds behind performers such as Stephanie Mills,
Aretha Franklin, Melba Moore, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Little
Anthony and the Imperials, Johnny Mathis, Frankie Avalon, The Dells, and
Manhattan Transfer.
1- How have the last few years of your life affected your
current music?
The last few years
have greatly affected my playing and music. My wife has had a profound
effect on my playing and my approach to music, and we also have been
spending a great deal of time in Japan, which has also had an influence
on my music choices. I’ve begun to remember why I wanted to play music
in the first place. For the joy and the fun! I want to tell a story
when I play a solo, make people feel something, bring the experience of
life onto the stage with me. I play a feature ballad with the Basie
band, one that Bobby Plater originally played, Soft as Velvet, my
approach to it has completely changed. I want to tell my story, and
when I play Soft As Velvet on stage, I think that I’m playing it for my
wife, it’s her favorite song! First, I don’t want to play too loud, as
Phil Woods once said, he would rather people lean into the stage to
hear, than move back into their seats from the loudness of it. And I’m
singing through the horn. Years ago, I always liked the players who
sang with their horn, Charlie Parker, Miles, Coltrane, Sonny Rollins,
Cannonball and the pop cats like David Sanborn. Sanborn loved Hank
Crawford. A player should be familiar with the lyrics of the tune.
There’s a great solo by Michael Brecker on James Taylor’s “Don’t Let Me
Be Lonely Tonight”, I love his lyrical singing approach to the solo.
Brings it all home, you dig?
2. How did you choose to play the saxophone, and what players influenced you early on?
I started out at age 9
studying classical Clarinet. I had private lessons, and I was going
through Klose and Rose studies, and in a few years I was playing the
Mozart Clarinet Concerto. But some time when I was young, although my
father listened to Classical music, and he also played piano himself, he
had a tape of Louis Armstrong, I think the recording of Hello, Dolly
and Mack the Knife. I heard that and I was floored! Man, I think it
was Barney Bigard playing clarinet. And found such joy in this
recording, I played it all the time, it was an 8-Track tape, who
remembers those? And Louis was singing, and he was playing and the
clarinet playing just knocked me out. Then my mom got me a record of
Pete Fountain. So I asked my Pop to get me a saxophone so I could play
in the school jazz band, honestly he wasn’t thrilled but he did it!
My teacher started teaching me how to play the alto, and then at school
the next year I found a record in the music library. This guy named
Charlie Parker “Live at Massey Hall”. I took that home, and played that
on my turntable every single night while I lay in bed!! I had no idea
what was going on, but I knew I liked it! It was absolutely amazing, I
had never heard anything like that! After that, a guy from college came
to our school to do a jazz clinic, and he played me a record by David
Sanborn, the one called Sanborn. Man, I dug that. I tried to also copy
stuff off that record. The sax major from college was the first guy to
show me some chords and gave me something to play on a solo. In my
senior year of High School I went to see David Sanborn in concert in
Pittsburgh, it was Hiram Bullock, Will Lee, Steve Jordan, Rosalinda de
Leon-the band was killin! When I saw that, I knew I wanted to be a
performer. After that my next real jazz teacher was Mark Kirk, protege
of Phil Woods who told me to leave the Charlie Parker Omnibook at home,
that reading solos was useless, that I needed to learn the piano, and
to learn 4 scale patterns (that had the notes numbered and told me to
think in numbers) that Phil taught his students. That took years of
study from that first lesson. At that time, I listened to a variety of
music from Earth, Wind and Fire, Chicago, Emerson, Lake and Palmer,
Charlie Parker, Arthur Blythe, Jackie McClean, Weather Report, Bill
Chase, Maynard Ferguson, Count Basie, John Coltrane et al. My biggest
influence and favorite player was by far Charlie Parker. All the other
cats were into Cannonball at that time, I was a throwback, I loved
Charlie Parker. I also had a bunch of Michael Brecker recordings, I
later got to meet Mike while on the road with Basie and speak with him
on the phone. He told me about his practice habits, playing patterns in
12 keys, in every interval he could think of, of the way he wrote them
all down. Much like what George Coleman talked about . Funny, Mike
said he was listening to Stan Getz at the time,and wished he could play
less notes like Stan! Man, dig that. And I love Stan Getz too, one of
my favorites. Bob Berg, Bob Mintzer, Bergonzi, the post Trane cats, I lend an ear to them too.
Nathan
Davis told me to learn all the saxophones, my first job with Lionel
Hampton was on baritone sax. Nathan had me switch from Lead Alto and
play bari a little while at Pitt. He also gave me a tenor and soprano
and said learn the differences. Each horn is a voice. I would only
listen to tenor players while practicing tenor, and I transcribed and
wrote out lots of tenor solos. Tenor has become my favorite voice.
John Williams, the great Basie bari player once told me, I was the only
guy he knew who played 4 of the sax chairs in the Basie band, and
all of the sax chairs in the Ellington band! You have to be
versatile!
I grew up in
Pittsburgh so while I was at University of Pittsburgh, I was
studying with Nathan Davis, and listened to Eric Kloss and Kenny Blake
in town. There were some great young players there, trombonist Frank
Mallah, who called Charlie Parker, The Big Birdie. He told me just
transcribe solos and listen to The Big Birdie!
3. At this point in life - What inspires you musically?
I still enjoy a large variety of
music, from Prince to Miles to Vincent Herring, to Stan Getz, and I love
lyrics of good songs, I love the love songs with a story and lyrics. I
like pop music that has a love ballad to it, I think people like these
songs because they tell a story about their lives. And it’s romantic.
I think most great music has some romance in it. My favorite songs are
those with beautiful lyrics. And then when I play a ballad or play a
tune, or play Lead Alto, I want to be singing, it should sing. That’s
what inspires me now, to play some music that people will enjoy, I don’t
want to try to impress the musicians with my hippest licks in 12 keys,
I’ve been listening to the music that lasts. Last forever. Like Frank
Sinatra. Miles Davis recordings. Bird. Sonny Rollins. The great Blue
Note Record era. This music reaches out to the listener. I’m inspired
to try to play some music now that the listener will tap their foot and
leave with some joy in their heart!
