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Dan Monaghan
Mansfield, PA, native Dan Monaghan is one of the busiest drummers in the Philadelphia area. After studying classical percussion for eight years he went on to earn a Bachelors of Music in jazz studies from Temple University. Since then he has performed with some of the top names in jazz, including Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein, Uri Caine, and Randy Brecker. In addition, he has recorded with Dick Oatts, Garry Dial, Joe Magnarelli, Jimmy Bruno, Elio Villafranca, Joanna Pascale, John Vanore & Abstract Truth, Larry McKenna, Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord, Norman David, Tom Tallitsch, Mike Kennedy, and many others.
Dan has performed at the Heineken Jazzaldia Festival, the Daegu International Jazz Festival, the Mellon Jazz Festival, the East Coast Jazz Festival, the Wilmington Latino Festival, the Cremona Jazz Festival, the Blue Note, Blues Alley, Smoke, Ortlieb's Jazzhaus, Zanzibar Blue, and Chris' Jazz Cafe, among other well-known venues.
In addition to his performing credits, Dan is on the faculty at Rowan University and Temple University, and is a frequent clinician at schools, colleges, and festivals.
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John Vanore & Abstract Truth: Easter Island Suite
by Dan McClenaghan
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 ...
Continue ReadingJohn Vanore & Abstract Truth: Easter Island Suite
by Jack Bowers
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, ...
Continue ReadingLarry McKenna: World On A String
by Richard J Salvucci
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).
Continue ReadingThe Dave Wilson Quartet: Stretching Supreme
by Jack Bowers
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 ...
Continue ReadingTom Tallitsch: Message
by David A. Orthmann
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 ...
Continue ReadingSusie Meissner: Tea for Two
by C. Michael Bailey
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 ...
Continue ReadingTom Tallitsch: Ten
by David A. Orthmann
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 ...
Continue ReadingBrawny-Toned tenorman Dave Wilson releases "One Night At Chris’' (in Philadelphia) with Kirk Reese, Tony Marino and Dan Monaghan
Source:
All About Jazz
From the One Night At Chris' liner notes by Bill Milkowski As brawny-toned tenor man Dave Wilson said, in reflecting back on this inspired set, “It was a good night!” That’s an understatement. One Night at Chris’ bristles with a kind of visceral energy and sheer burn that lit up the crowd at the famed Chris’ Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia in March of 2018 and makes for invigorating listening now. Wilson’s fifth recording as a leader and first live outing ...
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Photos
Music
Gods and Devils
From: Easter Island SuiteBy Dan Monaghan
Zipline
From: MessageBy Dan Monaghan
Tuesday Overture
From: At This TimeBy Dan Monaghan
