Jazz Articles about Dan Monaghan

About Dan Monaghan

Album Review

John Vanore & Abstract Truth: Easter Island Suite

Read "Easter Island Suite" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
January 26, 2026

The spirit of Oliver Nelson and the thousand ghosts of Easter Island loom large over John Vanore & Abstract Truth's Easter Island Suite. The Nelson side of the equation has its roots in trumpeter Vanore's attendance at a Nelson-directed summer program at Indiana University, which led him, as a student, into deeper explorations of Nelson's work, including 1961 classic Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse!). Hence, the name of his ensemble: John Vanore & Abstract Truth. As for Easter Island--the ...

Album Review

John Vanore & Abstract Truth: Easter Island Suite

Read "Easter Island Suite" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
January 15, 2026

The first and last movements of Philadelphia-based trumpeter and composer John Vanore's epic Easter Island Suite were recorded thirty-five years apart, in 1989 and 2024, which says a lot about his determination to shepherd the ambitious enterprise to its conclusion. Movements 2 and 3 of the picturesque Suite were recorded in 2012. Even today, some three hundred years after it was first seen by Western eyes in the form of Dutch explorers led by Jacob Roggeveen, Easter Island, ...

Album Review

Larry McKenna: World On A String

Read "World On A String" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
November 21, 2023

Larry McKenna is not really a celebrity. He probably never will be. He plays tenor sax in and around Philadelphia. He apparently does not say a lot--although he clearly has a puckish sense of humor. It comes out in his playing. It is possible to drive by his suburban home, vaguely aware that a saxophonist, a pretty good one, lives there and keep right on going. A sort of metaphor for McKenna and his career (read our 2007 interview).

Album Review

The Dave Wilson Quartet: Stretching Supreme

Read "Stretching Supreme" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
January 2, 2022

On Stretching Supreme, his seventh album as leader of his own ensembles, saxophonist Dave Wilson pays homage to a musical hero-- the legendary John Coltrane--performing a trio of Coltrane's classic themes from his late-career “transitional" period, “A Love Supreme," “Dear Lord" and “Naima," recorded in October 2017 at Chris' Jazz Café in Philadelphia; “A Love Supreme" is divided into three parts, a lengthy “Introduction," “Acknowledgement" and “Resolution." They are complemented by Wilson's original composition, “On the Prairie," and the Henry ...

Album Review

Tom Tallitsch: Message

Read "Message" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
March 28, 2021

There is hard bop DNA in tenor and soprano saxophonist Tom Tallitsch's twelfth record as a leader, the third consecutive release for his TT Productions imprint. While it is always tempting to start making comparisons to classic sides from the genre, or to simply dismiss recognizable sounds as old hat in a world bursting with new ideas and concepts, Tallitsch and his associates warrant attention on their own merits. As on two recent recordings, Wheelhouse (Posi-Tone) and Ten ...

Album Review

Susie Meissner: Tea for Two

Read "Tea for Two" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
September 3, 2020

Natural but determined evolution makes for well conceived and produced projects. Vocalist Susie Meissner has proved this statement as she progressed from her debut recording I'll Remember April (Lydian Jazz, 2009), through her sophomore effort, I'm Confessin' (Lydian Jazz, 2011) to the present Tea for Two. Using a well-worn repertoire, Meissner, mostly with the support of pianist John Shaddy and his regular rhythm section (bassist Lee Smith and drummer Dan Monaghan), has steadily moved from solid, if not predictable, arrangements ...

Album Review

Tom Tallitsch: Ten

Read "Ten" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
December 12, 2019

Ten is a recording that resides and functions well in a stylistic no man's land. Tenor and soprano saxophonist Tom Tallitsch and his clever band display little interest in paying homage to easily recognizable jazz styles; yet, they don't make a point of abandoning traditional practices either. Taking a stab at some basic descriptions of some of Tallitsch's six compositions--medium tempo swing, skewed jazz-funk, a deliberately paced jazz waltz, Latin-tinged jazz, etc.--amounts to something of a fool's errand. Suffice it ...