Jazz Articles about Larry McKenna

Michelle Lordi: Drive

by Victor L. Schermer
March 22, 2015

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 ...

Larry McKenna: From All Sides

by Ian Patterson
December 6, 2013

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 ...

Larry McKenna: From All Sides

by Victor L. Schermer
October 9, 2013

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 ...

Limerick Jazz Festival 2013

by Ian Patterson
October 9, 2013

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 ...

January 2013: Larry McKenna Quartet

by RJ Johnson
February 7, 2013

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 ...

Larry McKenna: Profile

by Judson Aaron
July 24, 2010

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 ...

Larry McKenna: Profile

by Victor L. Schermer
January 4, 2010

Tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna could well deserve a place among giants like Lester Young, Stan Getz, and Zoot Sims as a lyrical player whose artistry, precision, and interpretive capacities almost always exceed expectation. As Philadelphia DJ Bob Perkins states, in his liner notes to McKenna's Profile, “With Larry, the quality goes in before the McKenna name goes on."

A highly sought after and experienced musician--touring with Woody Herman and accompanying vocalists including Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Mel Tormé, and Frank ...