Musician Guides/Current Calendar Ranking

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Kirk MacDonald

Kirk MacDonald is a tenor and soprano saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator whose extensive Canadian catalog spans small groups and jazz orchestra.

Tenor saxophoneSoprano saxophoneComposerEducator5 current shows
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Photo source · Photo: Kmackmac, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Career Overview

About Kirk MacDonald

MacDonald’s official biography documents more than fifty recordings as a leader and sideman and over one hundred recorded performances of his compositions. It follows an international career alongside a sustained place in Canadian jazz performance and education.[1]

His leader work moves from quartet and quintet recordings to the large-ensemble Common Ground, the co-led Silent Voices with Pat LaBarbera, and Generations with Harold Mabern and Virginia MacDonald. Recent projects include Trane of Thought, Septology, and Canadian Jazz Collective concerts.[1][2][3]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, saxophonist, and composer

Kirk MacDonald leader groups

MacDonald’s catalog uses changing quartet, quintet, septet, and large-ensemble settings for a substantial body of original music.[1][2]

Co-leader and saxophonist

Pat LaBarbera collaborations

Silent Voices and Trane of Thought document the two Canadian saxophonists in studio and live co-led groups.[1][3]

Professor, artistic director, and ensemble educator

Humber College and Youth Jazz Canada

MacDonald’s official biography records a full-time Humber professorship and leadership of national youth-jazz programs.[1]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

2018

Generations

Leader, saxophonist, and composer

The album joins MacDonald with Harold Mabern and clarinetist Virginia MacDonald in a three-generation group.[1][2]

Release details

2019

Trane of Thought

Co-leader and saxophonist with Pat LaBarbera

Recorded live at The Rex, the project places MacDonald and LaBarbera in a two-tenor tribute and original-music setting.[1][3]

Release details

2023

Septology – The Black Forest Session

Leader, saxophonist, and composer

The seven-piece session expands MacDonald’s leader writing beyond his recurring quartet and quintet formats.[1][2]

Release details

Artist-Authorized Destinations

Start Listening

Official Bandcamp catalog

Stream MacDonald’s recent leader recordings with full personnel and composition credits.

Trane of Thought

Hear MacDonald and Pat LaBarbera’s complete live co-led album from The Rex.

Live Calendar

Upcoming Jazz DateBook Shows

Wed, Sep 23, 8:00 PM

Pat LaBarbera /Kirk MacDonald Quintet Celebrating John Coltrane at 100

The Rex · Toronto

Show details

Thu, Sep 24, 8:00 PM

Pat LaBarbera /Kirk MacDonald Quintet Celebrating John Coltrane at 100

The Rex · Toronto

Show details

Fri, Sep 25, 5:00 PM

Kirk MacDonald: Duos

Jazz Bistro · Toronto

Show details

Fri, Sep 25, 8:00 PM

Pat LaBarbera /Kirk MacDonald Quintet Celebrating John Coltrane at 100

The Rex · Toronto

Show details

Sat, Sep 26, 8:00 PM

Pat LaBarbera /Kirk MacDonald Quintet Celebrating John Coltrane at 100

The Rex · Toronto

Show details

Evidence-Based Connections

Related Musician Guides

Connections below come from shared current Jazz DateBook bills or normalized documented performance roles—not subjective similarity.

Pat LaBarberaTenor saxophone · Alto saxophone4 shared current showsBrian DickinsonPiano · Composer4 shared current showsNeil SwainsonDouble bass · Composer4 shared current showsTerry ClarkeDrums · Bandleader4 shared current showsChris ByarsSaxophones · Clarinet and fluteShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · EducatorChris MadsenTenor saxophone · ComposerShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · Educator

Sources

Career copy is original synthesis from the artist, label, and project sources below. Current dates come from Jazz DateBook event inventory.

  1. [1] Official biography, awards, education, and catalog

    Kirk MacDonald

  2. [2] Artist-authorized leader recording catalog

    Kirk MacDonald

  3. [3] Trane of Thought live stream and personnel

    Pat LaBarbera and Kirk MacDonald