This events calendar includes Earl’s upcoming performances, compositional debuts, recordings and educational activities. On mobile devices this calendar is best viewed horizontally.
RSSUpcoming Gigs
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Wed18Dec2019
New London Big Band
7:30 - 10:00 PMThe Social Bar + Kitchen208 Bank St, New London, CT 06320Join us for an electrifying evening of jazz at the hottest spot in New London! THE PLACE SELLS OUT QUICK! Admission is free, but book your reservation now by calling (860) 442-6900 -- only $5 a seat. If you don't arrive for your reservation by 7:30pm, your seat will be given to the another guest.
Led by trombonist and composer Sean Nelson, the New London Big Band is a 17-piece jazz orchestra made up of the finest musicians in New England. The band plays a mix of classic jazz standards, upbeat dance tunes, and original music by band members, and regularly features instrumental and vocal soloists. -
Mon23Dec2019
Chris Beaudry 4tet @ Black-eyed Sally's
8:00 PMBlack-eyed Sally's
350 Asylum St.,
Hartford, CT. 06103
(860) 278-7427
Chris Beaudry – tenor sax
Earl MacDonald – piano
Tim Norton – string bass
T.B.A. – drum set -
Wed15Jan2020Sat18Jan2020
MMEA Central District Jazz Ensemble
Conducted by Earl MacDonald.Rehearsals @ North Middlesex Regional High School, 19 Main St, Townsend, MA:
- Wed., Jan. 15, 2020, 2pm – 9pm
- Fri., Jan. 17, 2020, 2pm – 9pm
Concert @ Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St, Worcester, MA:
- Sat., Jan. 18, 2020, 10am – 6pm
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Tue28Jan2020Wed29Jan2020
Myra Jazz Festival
Red River High School, Grand Forks, North Dakota
The Myra Jazz Festival has been running continuously for over 30 years. It is a two-day festival for middle school and high school jazz bands in the upper Red River Valley. In addition to adjudicating and presenting clinic sessions, Earl will perform as a featured guest artist with the Myra Big Band. The festival is free and open to the public on both days. -
Wed12Feb2020
Manchester High School Jazz Festival
8AM - 8PMEarl will adjudicate approximately 15 high school bands, and administer post-performance clinics.
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Thu13Feb2020
SNOW DATE: Manchester High School Jazz Festival
8AM - 8PMEarl will adjudicate approximately 15 high school bands, and administer post-performance clinics.
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Sun16Feb2020
UConn Jazz Showcase
5:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking]
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Sun01Mar2020
Messenger Pigeons @ StoneRidge
2PMStoneRidge Senior Living Community
186 Jerry Browne Road
Mystic, Connecticut
The Messenger Pigeons is a jazz combo comprised of middle school and high school-aged students. Most of the band members met while participating in the Eastern Region Middle School Jazz Ensemble in 2018. The group is co-led by two of the band members’ fathers, Earl MacDonald and Louis Hanzlik. The band rehearses together twice per month at UConn.
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Fri06Mar2020
Darien High School Jazz Festival
4:00 PMDarien High School, Darien, CT
Darien High School will host its seventh annual Jazz Jamboree on March 1 at 4 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Twelve area high school ensembles will be competing. Admission is five dollars. UConn jazz professors Earl MacDonald and John Mastroianni will adjudicate.
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Thu12Mar2020
UConn High School Jazz Festival
9 AM - 5 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 in von der Mehden Recital Hall, a twenty-minute personalized clinic by a UConn Jazz faculty member, instrument-specific master classes, and a mini-concert by the UConn Jazz Ensemble and UConn Jazz faculty.
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Wed18Mar2020Fri20Mar2020
Brandon Jazz Festival
Brandon University
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
The Brandon Jazz Festival is a showcase of young up-and-coming jazz musicians. Every year, talented musicians come to the Brandon Jazz Festival to perform and receive education from veteran jazz musicians from all over the world. -
Thu26Mar2020
Guardians Big Band @ Waterford HS Jazz Festival
12pmWaterford High School,
15 Rope Ferry Rd.,
Waterford, CT 06385
Earl performs with the US Coast Guard’s Guardians Big Band while they search for a full-time pianist.
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Fri27Mar2020
Guardians Big Band @ Old Saybrook High School
6pm - 8pmOld Saybrook High School
1111 Boston Post Road
Old Saybrook, CT 06475Earl performs with the US Coast Guard’s Guardians Big Band while they search for a full-time pianist.
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Sat28Mar2020
Guardians Big Band @ Manchester High School
2 - 4 PMManchester High School
134 East Middle Turnpike
Manchester, CT 06040Earl performs with the US Coast Guard’s Guardians Big Band while they search for a full-time pianist.
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Wed08Apr2020
UConn Jazz Combos
8:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking] -
Sat18Apr2020
UConn Jazz Ensemble
5:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking] -
Fri01May2020
UConn Music: Spectrum Concert
8:00 PMJorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, 2132 Hillside Road, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking] -
Sun12Jul2020Thu16Jul2020
Jazz In July
UMass Amherst, Fine Arts Center
Questions?
Call: 413.545.3530
e-mail: jazzinjuly@acad.umass.edu
A typical day for participants usually goes like this:
9:00 a.m. Instrumental Combos/ Vocalists with Faculty Trio
11:30 a.m. Lunch/Practice time
1:00 p.m. Faculty Approaches to Improvisation
2:00 p.m. Jazz Forum: Putting it Together – Vocalists meet Instrumentalists
3:30 p.m. Vocalists with Faculty Trio/Applied Instrumental Clinics
4:30 p.m. Dinner
6:15 p.m. Vocalist Workshop/Big Band Rehearsal/Jam Sessions
8:30 p.m. Jam Sessions -
Sun19Jul2020Thu23Jul2020
UConn Pre-College Summer Jazz Camp
University of Connecticut, Storrs Campus
Improvisation on the Fly!
Would you like to take your jazz improvisation skills to the next level and return to your band program with more swagger and attitude? Learn the nuts and bolts of how to play a jazz solo. Be the star soloist that you always dreamed of being. Gain experience and confidence playing with others.
- Take command of your improvised solos!
- Fully equip yourself for a successful college jazz audition.
- Further expand your instrumental technical facility.
- Expand your knowledge of theory, harmony, and history all while building monster “chops.”
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Sat19Sep2020
UConn Jazz Showcase
3:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking]Earl MacDonald, Doug Maher and John Mastroianni, directors
Try a little of this and a little of that at our jazz buffet. Experience a true cross-sampling of jazz styles and eras at a concert incorporating both big bands and combos. This premier performance of the 2020-21 season will feature all of the student jazz groups performing one or two selections. Bon appétit!
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Sat24Oct2020
UConn Jazz Combos
3:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking] -
Sun15Nov2020
UConn Jazz Lab Band
3:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking] -
Sun06Dec2020
UConn Jazz Ensemble
5:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking]The 17-piece UConn Jazz Ensemble, directed by John Mastroianni.
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Fri05Feb2021Sat06Feb2021
UConn High School Jazz Festival
9 AM - 9 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 in von der Mehden Recital Hall, a twenty-minute personalized clinic by a UConn Jazz faculty member, instrument-specific master classes, and a mini-concert by the UConn Jazz Ensemble and UConn Jazz faculty.
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Sun21Feb2021
UConn Jazz Showcase
3:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking] -
Sat27Mar2021
UConn Jazz Combos
3:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking] -
Sat10Apr2021
UConn Jazz Lab Band
3:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking] -
Sat17Apr2021
UConn Jazz Ensemble
3:00 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking]
