Raymond MacDonald is co-leader of The Burt/MacDonald Quintet and has recorded and toured extensively with this group. He began his musical carer playing guitar in pop band Remember Fun in the late eighties. As part of the BmacD5 he has been collaborating for a number of years with Lol Coxhill and has recently worked with, Keith Tippett and Harry Beckett. He is a founding member and key player in The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra and with this ensemble has performed with the likes of Evan Parker, Gunter "baby" Sommer, Fred Frith, Keith Rowe, George Lewis and Maggie Nicols. He has also performed and recorded with a wide range of musicians in various collaborative contexts at home and abroad (eg Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura, Tatsuya Nakatani, David Byrne, Mike Zerang, Fred Longberg-holm, Future Pilot AKA, and The London Improvisers Orchestra). He has also worked as Artistic Director for a music company, Sounds of Progress, specialising in working with people who have special needs. His work includes composing and performing for film and television and collaborations with visual artists, including specially commissioned work for Martin Boyce, Simon Starling and Christine Borland. He collaborated with David Byrne on David McKenzie's film Young Adam and in 2004 completed a commission for Radio 3's Between the Ears where the BMacD5 collaborated with Martin Boyce and Canadian writer Douglas Copland. He lectures on the psychology of music internationally and has a particular interest in music therapy and music education and has co-edited two books, Musical Identities and Musical Communication, both published by Oxford University Press.
Discography:
Flapjack - Raymond MacDonald & Neil Davidson FMR 2006
Listen Big - Rich in Knuckles ISIS Music 2005
The Great Shark Hunt - The Burt/MacDonald Septet FMR 2005
Which Way Did He Go - The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra FMR 2005
Hotel Dilettante - The Burt/MacDonald Quintet Textile 2005
A Day for a Reason - The Burt/MacDonald Sextet Tob Records 2005
Asylum - Giles Lamb & Raymond MacDonald Deluge&Guitary 2005
Munich and Glasgow - The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra FMR 2004
Pop Corn - The Burt/MacDonald Octet FMR 2004
Coxhill Street - Burt/MacDonald Quartet FMR 2002
Tsunami - The Burt/MacDonald Quartet FMR 2001
Train Journeys - Remember Fun Matinee 2001
Hey There You Hosers - Hung Drawn Quartet HDQ 2001
Big Brothers - The Burt/MacDonald Quartet BMacD 2000
Oh Hello - The Burt/MacDonald Quartet BMacD 1998
A Train in the Distance - Hung Drawn Quartet HDQ 1995
Contributions to, or tracks on the following:
The Electronic Bible Chapter One Compilation White Label 2004
Lead us not into Temptation - David Byrne Thrill Jockey 2003
Salute Your Soul - Future Pilot AKA Geographic 2003
You don't need darkness Compilation Geographic 2002
Séance at Hobbs Lane - Mount Vernon Arts Lab Topcities 2001
Tiny Waves Mighty Sea - Future Pilot AKA Geographic 2001
Be-Bop to Hip-Hop Compilation Demus 1996
The Rise of the Phoenix Compilation Optimum 1989
Airspace Compilation EGG 1989
A Lighthouse in the Desert Compilation EGG 1989
