The Creative Opportunity Workshop (C.O.W.) occupies a pivotal place in Earl MacDonald’s artistic evolution. Conceived as an exploratory chamber jazz ensemble, the group brought together cello, saxophone, piano, and percussion—an unconventional instrumentation chosen specifically to escape the predictability and inherited conventions of standard jazz formats. The result was a strikingly original sound world that emphasized texture, surprise, and cross-disciplinary thinking.
Earl MacDonald – piano
Kris Allen – saxophones
Christopher Hoffman – cello
Rogério Boccato – percussion
Mirror of the Mind (partial track) – composed by Earl MacDonald
MacDonald formed C.O.W. as a personal laboratory for experimentation and stylistic fusion. “This band was created to challenge me as a pianist,” he noted at the time, “particularly to expand my use of the left hand and draw more deeply on the piano’s classical lineage.” The deliberate omission of bass created a large harmonic and rhythmic void—one that expanded MacDonald’s responsibilities while opening space for cello and percussion to function in fluid, nontraditional roles.
This ensemble marked two important firsts in MacDonald’s output: his initial use of cello as a core ensemble voice, and his first recorded collaboration with Brazilian percussionist Rogério Boccato. Both elements have since become central to his compositional language. Boccato has gone on to appear on three of MacDonald’s albums, and the expressive integration of cello would later re-emerge as a defining feature of the Black Square Ensemble, underscoring C.O.W.’s lasting influence.
The late writer Martin Williams famously described jazz as “the sound of surprise.” With C.O.W., MacDonald embraced that ethos by drawing freely from a wide range of influences, including Brahms, Schumann, Earle Brown, the Beatles, folk traditions from multiple cultures, Johnny Mandel, Chick Corea, Ornette Coleman, and Nat Cole. Reviewers responded by suggesting that MacDonald may have been forging a new hybrid jazz form—one rooted in tradition but unbound by it.
The Creative Opportunity Workshop: Mirror of the Mind
C.O.W.’s debut album, Mirror of the Mind, was released in October 2013 to widespread critical acclaim. The recording received a JUNO Award nomination for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year and established the ensemble as a compelling voice within contemporary chamber jazz.
Mirror Of The Mind, from pianist Earl MacDonald and the Creative Opportunity Workshop, is an album that surprises and delights.
All About Jazz
By Bruce Lindsay
Honestly, the colors and musical journeys are just too vast to describe in a simple review… Mirror of the Mind is another great installment in the ever-growing catalog of pianist/composer Earl MacDonald. Chamber jazz at its best.
JazzTimes
By H. Allen Williams
A magical, musical alchemist of hip hybrids, Earl MacDonald… has created yet another visionary, surprise-filled work with the release of his new CD, Mirror of the Mind, featuring his hand-picked jazz chamber group, the Creative Opportunity Workshop.
Hartford Courant
By Owen McNally, Special to the Courant
The Creative Opportunity Workshop remains an important touchstone in MacDonald’s catalogue. While the ensemble does not perform regularly, its music continues to inform his current compositional thinking, and select performances may still arise when circumstances align.
Purchase Mirror of the Mind via Bandcamp (CD and download formats available).