Earl MacDonald, Felipe Salles, Avery Sharpe and Winard Harper performing at Jazz-in-July. Amherst, MA. July, 2016.
The MacDonald–Salles Quartet is an occasional collaborative project devoted to modern, post-bop jazz rooted in the lineage of John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, and the contemporary improvising tradition that followed them. For Earl MacDonald, this ensemble serves as a focused outlet—a place to revisit a language he knows deeply, without allowing it to define the full scope of his artistic identity.
MacDonald and saxophonist Felipe Salles met in 2015 while serving on the faculty at the Jazz-in-July summer program at UMass Amherst. A shared musical vocabulary, mutual respect, and an easy musical rapport led naturally to performing together in small-group settings. While the quartet does not maintain a standing performance schedule, it remains an open and viable project—one that may be activated for select concerts or recordings when circumstances align.
Earl half-jokingly refers to the group as his “angry tenor band,” a nod to the high-energy, no-concessions approach the ensemble takes when it convenes. The music favors directness, intensity, and risk-taking—less concerned with polish than with momentum, interaction, and forward motion.
The quartet’s first formal performance took place on April 2, 2017, as part of the Hartford Public Library’s Baby Grand Jazz Series, following earlier appearances at Jazz-in-July faculty concerts. Performances typically feature rotating rhythm sections drawn from top-tier bassists and drummers, allowing each iteration of the group to take on a slightly different character.
While this ensemble represents only one facet of MacDonald’s musical life, it remains an important one: a reminder of the aesthetic that once occupied his full attention, and a tradition he continues to value and revisit on his own terms. Both MacDonald and Salles remain open to future performances and recording projects when the right opportunity presents itself.
Felipe Salles
A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Felipe Salles is a saxophonist, composer, and educator whose work balances visceral energy with compositional depth. He has been a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Amherst since 2010 and has performed and recorded with a wide range of internationally recognized artists, including Randy Brecker, David Liebman, Lionel Loueke, Sam Rivers, Gunther Schuller, and Jerry Bergonzi.
As a composer, Salles’ music has been performed by ensembles such as the Metropole Orchestra, Manhattan School of Music Jazz Orchestra, and New England Conservatory Jazz Orchestra. His recordings—including Departure and Ugandan Suite—have received critical acclaim from DownBeat, JazzTimes, and leading figures in contemporary jazz.
Salles is known not only for his forceful improvisational voice, but also for his ability to initiate and sustain meaningful artistic projects—qualities that make collaboration both productive and enjoyable.