Bassist James MacDonald is an eclectic artist and teacher performing in many genres and locations. His main teachers include Don Baldini, Michael Formanek, Cameron Brown and Salvatore Macchia. James began his career after college traveling the world on cruise ships and playing with jazz and free jazz masters like Sheila Jordan, Bobby Bradford and Carlos Averhoff including performances at Burlington and Green Mountain jazz festivals. As a classical musician, he has performed in chamber groups and orchestras (festival and otherwise) with Applehill, Electric Earth, Monadnock Music, Springfield Symphony, Blanche Moyese Chorale, Bennington Chorale Society and many others. James teaches at Smith College, Deerfield and Bemont Academies and was the founder of Open Music Collective in Brattleboro VT.