Doug Macdonald Duo

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Toluca Lake Jazz

Self-Released, 2021

9/10

Listen to Toluca Lake Jazz

The guitar wizard Doug MacDonald is aligned with the unparalleled bass playing of Harvey Newmark across 7 standards and 6 originals here, as the duo offer us swinging jazz sounds with incredible chemistry.

The pair start the album with the soothing and playful display of incredible guitar prowess on “Flamingo”, and “My Little Boat” follows with intricate picking and gorgeous interplay between the two in the Bossa Nova climate.

Closer to the middle, the cautious and stirring title track emits a strong sense of timeless song craft, while “Is This It? flows with incredible attention to detail. “Village Blues”, the album standout, then uses restraint in pretty ways as the blues unfold with cascading beauty.

As we near the end, “Pleasante Pleasant” showcases talent so mesmerizing that makes one wonder how many hands the players actually have, and “New World” exits the listen with more awe inspiring musicianship that sounds as great today as it will decades from now.

MacDonald is no stranger to exceptional albums, and this collaboration certainly warrants being at the top of his catalog as Newmark’s finger acrobatics add much to the highly melodic and exciting landscape.

Travels well with: Doug MacDonald- Califournia Quartet; Larry Newcomb Quartet- Love, Dad