In 1962, tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins recorded “The Bridge” with a pianoless quartet that co-starred guitarist Jim Hall. If John Coltrane had been the saxophonist instead, it might have sounded something like tenorman Kirk MacDonald’s Koch CD. MacDonald, who also has some Rollins in his sound, is in consistently inventive form on five of his originals, bassist Neil Swainson’s “In Case You Haven’t Heard,” and four standards: “East of the Sun,” “Lover Man,” “You Go to My Head” and Bill Evans’ “Turn Out the Stars.” Most of the leader’s original tunes have catchy melodies and fairly basic chord changes that act as viable vehicles for some strong jamming. With drummer Jerry Fuller and Swainson offering stimulating support and cool-toned guitarist Lorne Lofsky recalling Jim Hall in spots, MacDonald creates always-swinging solos with his Canadian quartet that have their unpredictable moments. In some ensembles he plays two tenors at once, possibly via overdubbing; nothing is said in the liner notes about the extra horn. Overall, this is a strong hard bop date that finds Kirk MacDonald (a player who deserves to be much better-known) in prime form. – Scott Yanow
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