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Doug MacDonald & the Tarmac Ensemble: Jazz Marathon 4: Live at Hangar 18

By Jack Bowers
December 14, 2019
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Doug MacDonald & the Tarmac Ensemble: Jazz Marathon 4: Live at Hangar 18

As befits a Jazz Marathon, guitarist

Doug MacDonald

guitar
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Doug MacDonald's Live at Hangar 18 embodies not one but two CDs, complete with shifting personnel and groups that range from quintet to septet. This is the fourth in a recorded series of marathons conceived by producer Don Thomson and led by MacDonald with a supporting cast that boasts a number of Southern California's leading jazz musicians. Hangar 18, by the way, is not a repository for aircraft but a restaurant at the Marriott Hotel adjacent to the LAX Airport.

The core ensemble, heard on Tracks 1-5 and 9 on Disc 1 and the first three tracks on Disc 2, comprises MacDonald, vibraphonist

Charlie Shoemake

b.1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Shoemake, pianist

Joe Bagg

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Bagg, bassist

Harvey Newmark

" data-original-title="" title="">Harvey Newmark and drummer

Kendall Kay

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Kendall Kay. Newmark and Kay are replaced on the remaining selections by

John B. Williams

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">John B. Williams and

Roy McCurdy

drums
b.1936

" data-original-title="" title="">Roy McCurdy with guest appearances along the way by trumpeter

Ron Stout

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Ron Stout, tenor saxophonist

Rickey Woodard

saxophone, tenor
b.1950

" data-original-title="" title="">Rickey Woodard and trombonist

Ira Nepus

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Ira Nepus.

Kim Richmond

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Kim Richmond plays flute on Disc 1's opening number, "San Fernando Blvd.," and a second MacDonald original, the shuffling "L L," alto on seven more numbers (which are billed as "the Kim Richmond Septet").

Needless to say, ensemble passages and solos are beyond question in good hands. Bagg is showcased to good advantage on "My Foolish Heart," Woodard on a robust version of "Where or When," Nepus on yet another standard, "Pennies from Heaven." MacDonald, meanwhile, excels as accompanist and improviser with the quintet. Everyone has a chance to stretch on

Herbie Hancock

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage," which runs for more than ten minutes, and Disc 2's heated finale,

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis' "Tune Up." Other highlights include a pair of Jerome Kern evergreens, "Nobody Else But Me" and "Make Believe" (the last credited here to Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe), and the septet's tasteful versions of Johnny Green's "Body and Soul" and

Antonio Carlos Jobim

piano
1927 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Someone to Light Up My Life." Disc 1's closer, listed as "Strike Up the Band," emerges instead as the opening number on Disc 2. No matter the locale, it's a bright and swinging rendition of the Gershwin standard with solos to match by Shoemake, MacDonald and Bagg.

There's even more to relish on Disc 1 ("Dreamsville," "Lollipops and Roses," "I Thought About You," "With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair"), all performed by the core quintet. In all, Hangar 18 encompasses nearly two hours of first-class mainstream jazz with a West Coast flair that passes so swiftly that it doesn't seem like a "marathon" at all, more like a pleasant run with some close and amiable companions.

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Track Listing

Disc 1: San Fernando Blvd.; Dreamsville; Lollipops and Roses; I Thought About You; With the Wind and the Rain in Her Hair; Maiden Voyage; Pennies from Heaven; Nobody Else But Me; Strike Up the Band. Disc 2: L L; Someone to Light Up My Life; Make Believe; Body and Soul; My Foolish Heart; Where or When; Tune Up.

Personnel

Doug MacDonald

guitar

Doug MacDonald: guitar; Ron Stout: trumpet; Kim Richmond: alto sax, flute, arranger; Rickey Woodard: tenor sax; Ira Nepus: trombone; Charlie Shoemake: vibraphone; Joe Bagg: piano; Harvey Newmark: bass; John B. Williams: bass; Kendall Kay: drums; Roy McCurdy: drums.

Album information

Title: Jazz Marathon 4: Live at Hangar 18 | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Self Produced

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