Wednesday August 24, at 8 pm, $5. Jazz with The Ken McDonald Quartet: Ken McDonald – double bass; special guest Aaron Zukewich – saxophones; Demetri Petsalakis – guitar; Lowell Whitty – drums. Ken is on tour in support of his new release CD “Pay What You Can”. “Ken’s compositions show his passion for the jazz tradition while maintaining a modern and fresh perspective. The blues based melodies and hard swinging grooves of early Blue Note recordings play a strong influence on his tunes.”
www.kenmcdonaldjazz.com www.myspace.com/kenmcdonaldjazz
Bio: The Ken McDonald Quartet formed in the winter of 2008 with their debut performance at the now defunct Concord Cafe. With saxophonist Paul Metcalfe and drummer Lowell Whitty being involved from the beginning, it took two years of searching (among many talented guitarists) to decide on Demetri Petsalakis as the permanent guitarist. The ensemble performs with an unbridled amount of exuberance and always maintains a high level of intensity no matter what the tempo, feel or dynamic of the piece is. The almost telekinetic connection between the members of the band allows for them to take daring risks with the music without missing a beat or cue.
Ken’s compositions show his passion for the jazz tradition while maintaining a modern and fresh perspective. The blues based melodies and hard swinging grooves of early Blue Note recordings play a strong influence on his tunes. This, paired with a knack for experimentation, infuses his songs with both tradition and rhetoric. While by no means tame or pedestrian, Ken’s music possesses an underlying sense of lyricism and sensitivity carried on strong melodic themes. Ken’s music is a refreshing take on jazz that is accessible to any audience.
In November of 2010 the quartet entered the studio to record Ken’s second album as a leader entitled “Pay What You Can,” engineered by fellow bassist Scott McCannell.
