Doug MacDonald's ReORGANized Quartet (jazz cd review)

Good jazz – you know, that melodic, swingin’, creative, flawlessly executed, feel-good, ageless,

fun-to-listen-to-music – is alive and well and escaping from the strings of jazz virtuoso Doug

MacDonald’s guitar on his latest CD offering, Doug MacDonald’s ReORGANized Quartet (BluJazz Records).

The new CD is the culmination of a year’s work by MacDonald as composer and leader,

realizing a goal to “write more for this ensemble and get it out there,” he said. The group features

the guitarist along with Bobby Pierce on organ and vocals, Clarence Webb and Roger Neu-mann

on tenor sax, and drummer/vocalist Harold Acey, offering new material as well as tunes that

were delivered by the foursome in a 1997 recording called “Organizing.” MacDonald announced

the revival of the organ quartet last year, referring to the revitalization of the original group as

“re-organizing.”

Doug MacDonald’s ReORGANed Quartet is available through CDBaby

(http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dougmacdonald8) as well as Amazon and iTunes. Additional info at

www.dougmacdonald.net .

My Thoughts:

You light the candles, the table is set for a cozy dinner for two, the mood is soft and in the background a melodic jazz CD sets the tone.  This jazz CD is Doug MacDonald's ReORGANized Quartet.  It's not the loud rag time jazz, nor is it bluesy.  This CD is easy on the ears and a palatable accompaniment to a romantic evening.

Thirteen numbers shift through easily, without disruption of pace or feeling.  A couple numbers are accompanied by vocals, which are nice though one is a bit drowned out by the instruments.  A nice tenor sax breezes through a few numbers (I do love a good saxophone!).  

If a romantic easy listening jazz CD is what you are looking for to put the finishing touches on a romantic evening or just to relax with at the end of the day, perhaps with a book in hand and your favourite drink nearby; then Doug MacDonald's ReORGANized Quartet is just the CD for you.

Note:  a copy of Doug MacDonald's ReORGANized Quartet was supplied for the purpose of presenting an honest and unbiased review.  My thanks to Doug and to Bostick Communications for the copy.  This in no way influenced my thoughts nor this review.