It Doesn't End Here is available at CD Baby
BiographyAfter fronting jazz groups for over 25 years in the New York/New Jersey area and such cities as Honolulu, London and Athens, in 2008 Marc McDonald releases his first CD as a leader, It Doesn't End Here. The CD’s mix of McDonald’s original compositions and inventive arrangements of standards draws on a variety of influences including mainstream jazz, Brazilian music, and New Orleans R&B.
McDonald’s career as a sideman has been active and varied. In a jazz context, he has had a long association with award-winning composer Jamie Begian, having been a member of Begian’s eclectic modernist big band since its inception in 1998.
His rock credits include concert guest appearances in England and the United States with Grammy-nominated vocalist Henry Rollins and studio work for bands such as Ween. On the cabaret circuit, he has recorded several CDs and toured internationally with singer Quinn Lemley.
As a composer, McDonald was one of ten invitees in 1990 to the ASCAP/Louis Armstrong Jazz Composers Workshop at New York’s Lincoln Center, and he also attended the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in New York for several years. Between 1991 and 1996, he premiered several works for jazz chamber ensemble, solo saxophone, and saxophone quartet at the Trenton (N.J.) Avant Garde Festival.
McDonald was born in London, England and lived there for six years before moving to Princeton, NJ. He currently resides in the New York area.