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Larry McKenna and Bootsie Barnes Quintet: Inaugural Jazz Bridge River Cruise
by Victor L. Schermer
Larry McKenna-Bootsie Barnes Quintet The Jazz Bridge River Cruise Philadelphia, PA June 13, 2015 The Jazz Bridge, a Philadelphia area organization whose meritorious mission is to assist local jazz and blues musicians and vocalists in times of crisis, sponsors numerous concerts, but this was their first cruise event, and they went all out, with an Elite private yacht leaving Penn's Landing in the early afternoon for a trip up and down the Delaware River ...
Continue ReadingMichelle Lordi: Drive
by Victor L. Schermer
It's difficult to conceive how this wonderful album of restrained and subtly rendered ballads came to be called Drive, a term which leads the listener to expect a package of revved up swing or rock. However, you don't have to be a cryptologist to realize that it comes from the last track, “Drive," which contains the line “Who's gonna drive you home?" This sense of melancholy and hoped for love, like so much of the American Songbook, is the essence ...
Continue ReadingLarry McKenna: From All Sides
by Ian Patterson
Philadelphian tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna holds what may be, if not a unique distinction, then certainly a rare one of having played with both Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennet. In a career spanning six decades he's played with many other leading jazz figures besides but only occasionally has he stepped out as a leader on a recording session. From All Sides is only his fourth CD in all these years. Nevertheless, 74-year-old McKenna's wonderful form on this collection of originals ...
Continue ReadingLarry McKenna: From All Sides
by Victor L. Schermer
Larry McKenna's tenor saxophone playing is addictive. It's like driving a Maserati: you're probably going to want to take it on the road again and again, because it is so elegant and finely engineered. A product of the late swing band era (he did a turn with Woody Herman), McKenna has kept rigorously on a course that started with Lester Young and culminated with Stan Getz. He has honed that genre to such perfection that today he provides the gold ...
Continue ReadingLimerick Jazz Festival 2013
by Ian Patterson
Limerick Jazz Festival Various Venues Limerick Ireland September 26-29, 2013 There's a lot to be said for laying strong foundations. By the time the Limerick Jazz Society got it together to put on the city's inaugural jazz festival in 2012 it already had 30 years experience of hosting local and international jazz acts. That's three decades building relations with venues and sponsors, local and national musicians and media, volunteers and supporters, and of course ...
Continue ReadingJanuary 2013: Larry McKenna Quartet
by RJ Johnson
Larry McKenna QuartetJanuary 17, 2012Arch Street Meeting HousePhiladelphia, PAThe Philadelphia jazz scene is well known for its reverence of jazz tradition. Compared to the constantly shifting modern scene of New York City, and the experimental projects produced by the current European scene, Philadelphia musicians are often seen as living examples of the preservation of jazz tradition. No one embodies this principal more meticulously than saxophonist Larry McKenna.McKenna is perhaps the ...
Continue ReadingLarry McKenna: Profile
by Judson Aaron
Philadelphia-based tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna is known for his gorgeous sound, the unparalleled beauty of his balladry, and his fluid, bebop-inspired improvisations. Profile showcases McKenna at the height of his interpretive and improvisational powers.Profile consists of a well-chosen set of familiar and lesser-known standards, and originals. It's a blowing session anchored by a heavyweight rhythm section: pianist Tom Lawton never ceases to amaze with his abundant technique and endless stream of ideas; bassist Kevin MacConnell underpins the session ...
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