DESCRIPTION:
A live performance by the New Directions Ensemble at Black-eyed Sally's, in Hartford, CT, on August 15, 2011.

Kris Allen - alto sax, Frank Kozyra - tenor sax, Lauren Sevian - bari sax, Jeff Holmes - lead trumpet, Josh Evans - trpt soloist, Tim Riley - French horn, Sara Jacovino - trombone, Earl MacDonald - piano, Alex Eckhardt - string bass, Ben Bilello - drum set.

Owen McNally of the Hartford Courant described the band and its mission, stating, "the fresh-sounding New Directions Ensemble taps into the rich lode of area talent, provides a vital forum for original compositions, spreads the good word about contemporary band music in its educational role, and provides a prominent public face for its sponsor, the Hartford Jazz Society. The New Directions Ensemble is set to swing in its own fresh way, generating contemporary band music that lives in the present, independent, cliché-free and untethered to conventional big band nostalgia." (01/20/2011)

For more information vist: http://www.earlmacdonald.com