Earl MacDonald: Consecrated
Outside in Music

Earl MacDonald's Consecrated is so appealing, it could win over even the most ardent follower of Richard Dawkins, one of the better-known progenitors of the so-called ‘New Atheism' movement. One is struck by the sincerity and dignity with which the Canadian-born, Conneticut-based pianist presents the traditional hymns and by the care with which they've been arranged and performed. Ten pieces feature the core sextet of MacDonald, vocalist Karly Epp, trumpeter David Smith, saxophonist Kris Allen, bassist Karl Kohut, and drummer Rogerio Boccato, with French hornist Alex Gertner and trombonist Sean Nelson guesting on a couple of tracks.

Consecrated is a spiritual album and a very personal one for MacDonald, but it's other things too. With respect to the governing musical sensibility, it's a jazz set enriched by high-quality soloing; it's also, however, a vocal album, given how prominently his fellow Canadian Epp is featured. Each setting is thus many things at once: a religious statement, a jazz-informed performance, and a hymn clothed in vocal song garb. It's to MacDonald's credit that a symbiotic balance is achieved in each setting, regardless of the stylistic differences between the performances. Balance is struck too between the vocals and accompaniment, with the mellifluous latter carefully crafted to complement but not overpower the singing.

Guided by his Christian faith, MacDonald's approach is both reverential and community-minded: genuine love of God is professed but also love for one's neighbours. The earnest expression of the musicians dovetails with that credo, as do the texts sung by Epp. Her delivery is restrained though not unappealingly so, and hearing her soft, pretty voice sing the words free of gratuitous ornamentation is consistent with the humble spirit of the project. In keeping with that community theme, the recording is international as it involves four Canadians, one Brazilian, and one American (interesting too is the fact that all six of the core band members hold academic positions as jazz educators in the U.S. and Canada). Complementing the singing is the instrumental approach, which is similarly tasteful, though that doesn't mean vitality's absent.

Sibelius fans will immediately identify his music as the instrumental backdrop to “Be Still, My Soul.” It's a template-setter of sorts when Epp enunciates the lyrics with character but sans embellishment and the others elevate the piece with sophisticated solos, the leader on acoustic piano followed by Allen (on soprano) and Kohut. In initiating the tune with a slow, modal-styled attack, MacDonald and company seem to be channeling John Coltrane's classic quartet for “O God of Love, Grant Us Your Peace,” an impression heightened by another soprano turn by Allen. Elsewhere, Smith elevates “Sweet Hour of Prayer” with an attractive flugelhorn solo, and an attractive chorale-styled intro paves the way for a breezy treatment of “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Indicative of the heights MacDonald's album reaches are the grandly swinging “Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated” and “The Love of God,” which appeals for its warm, Latin-tinged pulse and lustrous horns.

October 2021