Ian McDonald

イアン・マクドナルド　/　いあん・まくどなるど

American saxophonist

June 25, 1946 – February 9, 2022　・　Osterley, United Kingdom

saxophonist
guitarist
multi-instrumentalist

My Take

Ian McDonald is one of those musicians whose fingerprints are all over rock history, yet he rarely got the marquee credit he deserved. I think about the opening of "21st Century Schizoid Man" — that ferocious, almost violent sax line he laid down as a founding member of King Crimson in 1968 — and it still sounds like nothing else from that era. Then he helped launch Foreigner in 1976 and suddenly he's co-writing "Feels Like the First Time" and "Cold as Ice," massive FM radio staples a world away from prog. The range is genuinely remarkable. He passed in February 2022, and what strikes me most looking back is how quietly essential he was — the kind of player who shapes the sound of two legendary bands and somehow stays humble about the whole thing. Rock music is measurably better because Ian McDonald existed.

Overview

Ian Richard McDonald (25 June 1946 – 9 February 2022) was an English musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of the progressive rock band King Crimson in 1968, as well as the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976. McDonald began his music career as an army musician, where he learned the clarinet and taught himself music theory.

1. Profile

Name (English): Ian McDonald
Name (Japanese): イアン・マクドナルド
Reading: いあん・まくどなるど
Born: June 25, 1946 – February 9, 2022
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Cancer / Dog
Origin: Osterley, United Kingdom
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: saxophonist / guitarist / multi-instrumentalist / musician / composer

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Private

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A4%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%82%AF%E3%83%89%E3%83%8A%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%20(%E3%83%9F%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3)