DOUG MacDONALD, Santa Monica Session

Veteran guitar great Doug MacDonald is not only one of contemporary jazz’s most prolific (10 albums in seven years) and diverse (quarter to big band) innovators, he has also been happy to be something of a musical tour guide for jazz fans who may want to visit Southern California.

While one of his most appealing recent albums is 2021’s Live in Hawaii (essential because the Philly native grew up there), otherwise his album titles are all about regional hotspots – The Coachella Valley Trio, Toluca Lake Jazz, Serenade to Highland Park, Edwin Alley (a historic location in the heart of Pasadena) and Live at the Rancho Mirage Library.

On his latest project, the Latin and Afro-Cuban influenced Santa Monica Session, MacDonald heads to the beach with a quartet of , stellar L.A. cats including bassist Hussain Jiffry, drummer Kevin Winard and the incomparable Bill Cantos on piano, organ and Fender Rhodes. The repertoire is both wildly eclectic and deliciously exotic, with three spritely MacDonald originals (including “Tele Time,” a coolly swinging, retro hipster bossa homage to his new Telecaster), a fiery, Latinized Sonny Rollins romp (“Pent Up House”) and a snappy, hand clappin’ boogaloo bounce through Miles Davis’ “Walkin’.

Reflective of the Latin spirit of the session, MacDonald bookends with a spirited spin on Tadd Dameron’s bebop classic “Lady Bird” and the speedy, hypnotic swirl of “Perdido,” featuring one of the guitarist’s ost high-octane solos and a wild piano solo showcasing Cantos in all his improvisational glory. Cantos’ sparkling Rhodes solo on “Tele Time” is another essential highlight on yet another phenomenal trek through MacDonald’s SoCal.