This calendar reflects Earl’s current public work, including select performances, premieres, recordings, and educational engagements.
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Upcoming Gigs
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Mon13Jul2026Fri17Jul2026
Jazz In July Summer Music Program
Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Jazz in July is a multi-generational jazz improvisation program with an impressive 40+ year history. It is a concentrated two-week program where both vocal and instrumental musicians study jazz improvisation with some of the nation’s best jazz educators and artists.The 2-week in-person program will run July 13-24, 2025. Earl will teach during the first week: July 13-17.
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Mon20Jul2026
Earl MacDonald's Black Square Ensemble in Hartford
6:00 - 7:00 PMEarl MacDonald's Black Square Ensemble will perform as part of the 59th Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz Series in Bushnell Park. The concert is free and will be held at the Thomas D. Harris IV Pavilion at Bushnell Park in Hartford, Connecticut. In case of rain the concert will be held at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church, 814 Asylum Ave, Hartford. The concert will be broadcasted on the radio via WWUH 91.3FM.
“Contemporary chamber music with teeth” — voice, piano, cello, and percussion driving slow, deliberate, socially awake compositions.
Earl MacDonald – piano, compositions
Rod Nelman – bass-baritone voice
Adam Willson – cello
Rogerio Boccato – percussion -
Fri24Jul2026
Jazz in July All-Stars Concert
5:30 - 9PMAmherst Common, Amherst, MA
The Jazz-in-July All-Stars Concert is a round-robin style concert featuring collaborations between the nationally and internationally known Jazz in July faculty members.Although subject to change, the anticipated roster of performers includes:Vocals: Dominique Eade
Brass: Jeff Holmes, Haneef Nelson
Saxophone: Bruce Diehl, Frank Newton
Piano: Earl MacDonald, Luis Perdomo, Stephen Page
Bass: Fumi Tomita, Avery Sharpe, Genevieve Rose
Guitar: Bob Ferrier
Drums: Steve Johns, Winard Harper, Greg CaputoThis concert is presented in cooperation with the Amherst Business Improvement District as part of their summer concert series. -
Mon03Aug2026
Guest Pianist: Guardians Big Band
6:30PMLawn behind Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main St, East Haddam, CT
Earl MacDonald joins the U.S. Coast Guard Band’s Guardians Big Band as a guest artist for an outdoor concert at the historic Goodspeed Opera House. -
Sun01Nov2026
UConn Jazz Combos
3PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $15.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.Steven Bulmer, director
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Sun08Nov2026
UConn Jazz Lab Band
3:00 - 4:30 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $15.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.Earl MacDonald, director
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Sun15Nov2026
UConn Jazz Ensemble
6 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $15.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.John Mastroianni, director
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Thu04Feb2027Fri05Feb2027
UConn High School Jazz Festival
9 AM - 6 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking]
The annual UConn Jazz Festival is a non-competitive and educationally-rewarding experience that provides a forum for mutual support of each ensemble’s efforts while enhancing skills in the jazz idiom. Highlights of the festival include:
- a twenty-minute performance time for each ensemble,
- a twenty-minute personalized clinic by a UConn Jazz faculty member, and
- a mini-concert by the UConn Jazz Ensemble and UConn Jazz faculty.
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Sun11Apr2027
UConn Jazz Lab Band
3:00 - 4:30 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $15.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.Earl MacDonald, director
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Sun18Apr2027
UConn Jazz Combos
3 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $15.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.Steven Bulmer, director
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Sun25Apr2027
UConn Jazz Ensemble
6 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $15.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.John Mastroianni, director
