Within this master class MacDonald identifies the problems he repeatedly hears within high school rhythm sections when adjudicating or visiting schools. He typically offers the following list as a menu, allowing the audience (usually music educators) to select the topics to be expounded upon as he offers solutions.

1. rhythm section configurations / set-up
2. reading the page too literally, or not knowing how to interpret the notation
3. guitarists with no concept of a typical jazz guitar sound or their role within the ensemble
4. guitarists & pianists overlapping roles, thereby clashing rhythmically and harmonically
5. classically-trained pianists who cannot “comp” (accompany in a jazz context)
6. drums not “setting up” ensemble passages
7. students with extremely limited knowledge of the historically & currently prominent players on their own instrument. Minimal or zero exposure to classic jazz recordings
8. ignorance of famous rhythm section combinations and how they differ from one another
9. “doubling up” – multiple guitarists, 2 pianists (on one bench!), auxiliary percussion
10. problematic ride cymbal patterns
11. weak bass line construction and execution

List of important rhythm section players:

Pianists:

Art Tatum, Nat Cole, Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Barry Harris, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, Tommy Flanagan, Sonny Clark, Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal, Wynton Kelly, Horace Silver, Lennie Tristano, Bill Evans, Phineas Newborn, George Shearing, John Hicks, Harold Mabern, Kenny Drew, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Joe Zawinul, Mulgrew Miller, Richie Beirach, Fred Hersch, Eddie Palmieri, Paul Bley, Kenny Kirkland.

Guitarists:

Charlie Christian, Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel, Grant Green, Freddie Green, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, Tal Farlow, Herb Ellis, Les Paul, Django Reinhardt, Jimmy Raney, Joe Pass, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Wayne Krantz, Bill Frisell, Ben Monder, Robin Eubanks, John Abercrombie, Larry Corryell, Pat Metheny, Ed Bickert, Mick Goodrick, Ralph Towner

Bassists:

Oscar Pettiford, Paul Chambers, Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Dave Holland, Butch Warren, Sam Jones, Buster Williams, Richard Davis, Jimmy Garrison, Steve Davis, Reggie Workman, Wilbur Ware, Doug Watkins, Sam Jones, Charles Mingus, Bob Cranshaw, Scott LaFaro, Eddie Gomez, Marc Johnson, Rufus Reid, Charles Fambrough, Niels-Henning Ortsed-Pederson, Charlie Haden, Ray Drummond, Christian McBride

Drummers:

Papa Jo Jones, Kenny Clarke, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Arthur Taylor, “Philly” Joe Jones, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Cobb, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, Billy Higgins, Danny Richmond, Al Foster, Mel Lewis, Ralph Peterson, Jon Christensen, Victor Lewis, Lewis Hayes, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Chambers, Carl Allen, Vernell Fournier, Adam Nussbaum, Steve Gadd, Jeff Watts