Peter MacDonough

Saxophonist Peter MacDonough is a gifted instrumentalist whose projects straddle the line between contemporary jazz, post-bop, and Latin styles. A West Coast native, he first garnered attention leading groups in the Bay Area before relocating to Sydney, Australia, where he released 2010's The Wizard of Oz-inspired The WOO and 2015's A Portrait of Dorian Blue, featuring his six-piece fusion ensemble. Born in 1958 in Santa Monica, California, MacDonough grew up in Virginia, where began playing the clarinet at the age of nine. By his teens, he was already an accomplished musician having joined the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra. Following his time at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College, he earned his Bachelor of Arts from the College of William & Mary, where he was the principal clarinetist of the Symphony Orchestra. After graduating, he relocated back to the San Francisco Bay Area, and he began pursuing his love of jazz and Latin traditions, studying with musicians like Michael Spiro, Marcos Silva, Jovino Santos Neto, and others. By this point, MacDonough had settled on alto saxophone as his main instrument and was leading his own groups. In 1991, he made his debut as leader with Cafe Bozart, an album influenced by groups like Spyro Gyra. He also formed his six-piece fusion ensemble Dorian Blue and recorded several live albums. In the late 2000s, MacDonough moved to Sydney, Australia, where he released The WOO: A Latin Jazz Suite for Soprano Saxophone in 2010. A reworking of the soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz, it featured contributions by Mark Levine, David Belove, Paul van Wageningen, and more. He also put together another version of Dorian Blue and in 2015 released A Portrait of Dorian Blue.
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