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Wikipedia

Dave McKenna

May 02, 2024

For the Australian street bike stunt performer, see Dave McKenna (stunt rider).

Dave McKenna (May 30, 1930 – October 18, 2008)[1] was an American jazz pianist known primarily as a solo pianist and for his "three-handed" swing style. He was a significant figure in the evolution of jazz piano.

Dave McKenna
Jazz pianist Dave McKenna at the Village Jazz Lounge in Walt Disney World
Background information
Born(1930-05-30)May 30, 1930
Woonsocket, Rhode Island, U.S.
DiedOctober 18, 2008(2008-10-18) (aged 78)
State College, Pennsylvania
GenresJazz, swing
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Piano
Years active1940s–1990s
LabelsEpic, Bethlehem, Inner City, Chiaroscuro, Concord

Career edit

He was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, United States.[1] At age 15, McKenna worked in big bands with Charlie Ventura (1949) and Woody Herman's Orchestra (1950–51).[2] He then spent two years in the military, in the Korea War, before returning to Ventura (1953–54).[2] During his career he worked in swing and dixieland settings with Al Cohn, Eddie Condon, Stan Getz, Gene Krupa, Zoot Sims, Joe Venuti,[3] and often with Bob Wilber and Bobby Hackett. McKenna released his first solo album in 1955. During the 1980s, he worked as a pianist at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston.[1]

Recordings edit

McKenna recorded extensively from 1958–2002, beginning with ABC-Paramount (1956), Epic (1958), Bethlehem (1960) and Realm (1963). He made several recordings for Chiaroscuro in the 1970s, including his comeback album Solo Piano. He debuted with the Concord Jazz label in 1979, for whom he recorded many albums as both a soloist and group member.[3] He was featured in the second volume of Concord's 42-disc series recorded live at Maybeck Recital Hall. His last recording, An Intimate Evening with Dave McKenna was released by Arbors in 2002.[4]

Musical style edit

McKenna's musical style relied on two key elements relating to his choices of tunes and set selection, and the method of playing that has come to be known as "three-handed swing".[5]

His renditions usually began with a spare, open statement of the melody; or, on ballads, a freely played, richly harmonized one. He then often stated the theme a second time, gradually bringing in more harmony or a stronger pulse.[5]

His improvisation then began in earnest on three simultaneous levels: a walking bassline, mid-range chords, and an improvised melody. The bassline, for which McKenna frequently employed the rarely used lowest regions of the piano, was often played non-legato to simulate a double bassist's phrasing. The chords were played with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand or of both hands combined, if the bass was not too low to make the stretch unfeasible. Sometimes he also added a guide-tone line consisting of thirds and sevenths on top of the bass, played by the thumb of the left hand. With his right hand's remaining fingers, he then played the melody, weaving it into improvised lines featuring colorful chromaticism, blues licks and mainstream-jazz ideas. The result was the sound of a three-piece band under one person's creative control.[5]

McKenna often used his left hand to emulate the sound of a rhythm jazz guitarist, playing a four-to-the-bar "strum" consisting of a bass note (root/fifth/other interval), third and seventh. This pattern often took the form of intervals of a tenth, which is why the voicings were frequently "broken" arpeggiated, with the top two notes being played on the beat and the bass note slightly before. He often subtly altered these voicings every two beats for variety.

His "broken tenth" sound was frequently mistaken for stride piano. However, it was a more modern four-beat style, as opposed to stride's two-beat "oom-pah" rhythm (a la Fats Waller). McKenna was also quite capable of playing full stride piano, and occasionally broke into stride choruses, especially on songs associated with traditional jazz or at the height of an up-tempo song's development.

The characteristic that perhaps most distinguishes McKenna's playing is his sense of time. One of the biggest challenges of solo jazz piano is the need to provide a compelling time feel, in part by emulating the rhythmic landscape normally provided by three or four players in a small group. By conceiving multiple "parts" and playing them with distinct volume levels and time feels (often with right hand chords ahead of the beat and the melody behind the beat), McKenna had a unique ability to reproduce, on his own, the sound of a small group.[6]

McKenna liked to create medleys around a common word or theme in song titles. He often combined ballads and up-tempo songs with standards, pop tunes, blues, and TV themes and folk songs.

Death edit

McKenna died on October 18, 2008, in State College, Pennsylvania at the age of 78 from lung cancer.[1]

Partial discography edit

As leader edit

  • Solo Piano (ABC-Paramount, 1956)
  • The Piano Scene of Dave McKenna (Epic, 1959)
  • Solo Piano (Chiaroscuro, 1973)
  • Cookin' at Michael's Pub (Halcyon, 1973)
  • Dave "Fingers" McKenna (Chiaroscuro, 1977)
  • Giant Strides (Concord, 1979)
  • Piano Mover (Concord Jazz, 1981)
  • Bill Evans: A Tribute (Palo Alto, 1982)
  • A Celebration of Hoagy Carmichael (Concord, 1983)
  • Dancing in the Dark and Other Music of Arthur Schwartz (Concord Jazz, 1986)
  • My Friend the Piano (Concord Jazz, 1987)
  • No More Ouzo for Puzo (Concord Jazz, 1989)
  • Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Two (Concord Jazz, 1989)
  • Christmas Ivory (Concord Jazz, 1997)
  • An Intimate Evening With Dave McKenna (Arbors, 2002)

As sideman edit

With Ed Bickert

  • Bye Bye Baby (Concord, 1984)

With Urbie Green

With Bobby Hackett

With Teddi King

  • This is New (1977)

With Zoot Sims

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Keepnews, Peter (20 October 2008). "Dave McKenna, 78, Jazz Pianist, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 268. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  3. ^ a b Yanow, Scott. "Dave McKenna". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Dave McKenna Albums and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  5. ^ a b c "Dave McKenna". www.sandybrownjazz.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  6. ^ Keepnews, Peter (2008-10-20). "Dave McKenna, Pianist Known for Solo Jazz Work, Dies at 78". NY Times.

External links edit

  • Dave McKenna: Piano's Most Valuable Player
  • "Remembering Jazz Pianist Dave McKenna" at NPR Music

May 02, 2024
dave, mckenna, australian, street, bike, stunt, performer, stunt, rider, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sour. For the Australian street bike stunt performer see Dave McKenna stunt rider This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Dave McKenna news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2012 Learn how and when to remove this message Dave McKenna May 30 1930 October 18 2008 1 was an American jazz pianist known primarily as a solo pianist and for his three handed swing style He was a significant figure in the evolution of jazz piano Dave McKennaJazz pianist Dave McKenna at the Village Jazz Lounge in Walt Disney WorldBackground informationBorn 1930 05 30 May 30 1930Woonsocket Rhode Island U S DiedOctober 18 2008 2008 10 18 aged 78 State College PennsylvaniaGenresJazz swingOccupation s MusicianInstrument s PianoYears active1940s 1990sLabelsEpic Bethlehem Inner City Chiaroscuro Concord Contents 1 Career 2 Recordings 3 Musical style 4 Death 5 Partial discography 5 1 As leader 5 2 As sideman 6 References 7 External linksCareer editHe was born in Woonsocket Rhode Island United States 1 At age 15 McKenna worked in big bands with Charlie Ventura 1949 and Woody Herman s Orchestra 1950 51 2 He then spent two years in the military in the Korea War before returning to Ventura 1953 54 2 During his career he worked in swing and dixieland settings with Al Cohn Eddie Condon Stan Getz Gene Krupa Zoot Sims Joe Venuti 3 and often with Bob Wilber and Bobby Hackett McKenna released his first solo album in 1955 During the 1980s he worked as a pianist at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston 1 Recordings editMcKenna recorded extensively from 1958 2002 beginning with ABC Paramount 1956 Epic 1958 Bethlehem 1960 and Realm 1963 He made several recordings for Chiaroscuro in the 1970s including his comeback album Solo Piano He debuted with the Concord Jazz label in 1979 for whom he recorded many albums as both a soloist and group member 3 He was featured in the second volume of Concord s 42 disc series recorded live at Maybeck Recital Hall His last recording An Intimate Evening with Dave McKenna was released by Arbors in 2002 4 Musical style editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed July 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message McKenna s musical style relied on two key elements relating to his choices of tunes and set selection and the method of playing that has come to be known as three handed swing 5 His renditions usually began with a spare open statement of the melody or on ballads a freely played richly harmonized one He then often stated the theme a second time gradually bringing in more harmony or a stronger pulse 5 His improvisation then began in earnest on three simultaneous levels a walking bassline mid range chords and an improvised melody The bassline for which McKenna frequently employed the rarely used lowest regions of the piano was often played non legato to simulate a double bassist s phrasing The chords were played with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand or of both hands combined if the bass was not too low to make the stretch unfeasible Sometimes he also added a guide tone line consisting of thirds and sevenths on top of the bass played by the thumb of the left hand With his right hand s remaining fingers he then played the melody weaving it into improvised lines featuring colorful chromaticism blues licks and mainstream jazz ideas The result was the sound of a three piece band under one person s creative control 5 McKenna often used his left hand to emulate the sound of a rhythm jazz guitarist playing a four to the bar strum consisting of a bass note root fifth other interval third and seventh This pattern often took the form of intervals of a tenth which is why the voicings were frequently broken arpeggiated with the top two notes being played on the beat and the bass note slightly before He often subtly altered these voicings every two beats for variety His broken tenth sound was frequently mistaken for stride piano However it was a more modern four beat style as opposed to stride s two beat oom pah rhythm a la Fats Waller McKenna was also quite capable of playing full stride piano and occasionally broke into stride choruses especially on songs associated with traditional jazz or at the height of an up tempo song s development The characteristic that perhaps most distinguishes McKenna s playing is his sense of time One of the biggest challenges of solo jazz piano is the need to provide a compelling time feel in part by emulating the rhythmic landscape normally provided by three or four players in a small group By conceiving multiple parts and playing them with distinct volume levels and time feels often with right hand chords ahead of the beat and the melody behind the beat McKenna had a unique ability to reproduce on his own the sound of a small group 6 McKenna liked to create medleys around a common word or theme in song titles He often combined ballads and up tempo songs with standards pop tunes blues and TV themes and folk songs Death editMcKenna died on October 18 2008 in State College Pennsylvania at the age of 78 from lung cancer 1 Partial discography editAs leader edit Solo Piano ABC Paramount 1956 The Piano Scene of Dave McKenna Epic 1959 Solo Piano Chiaroscuro 1973 Cookin at Michael s Pub Halcyon 1973 Dave Fingers McKenna Chiaroscuro 1977 Giant Strides Concord 1979 Piano Mover Concord Jazz 1981 Bill Evans A Tribute Palo Alto 1982 A Celebration of Hoagy Carmichael Concord 1983 Dancing in the Dark and Other Music of Arthur Schwartz Concord Jazz 1986 My Friend the Piano Concord Jazz 1987 No More Ouzo for Puzo Concord Jazz 1989 Live at Maybeck Recital Hall Volume Two Concord Jazz 1989 Christmas Ivory Concord Jazz 1997 An Intimate Evening With Dave McKenna Arbors 2002 As sideman edit With Ed Bickert Bye Bye Baby Concord 1984 With Urbie Green Blues and Other Shades of Green ABC Paramount 1955 All About Urbie Green and His Big Band ABC Paramount 1956 With Bobby Hackett Creole Cookin Verve 1967 With Teddi King This is New 1977 With Zoot Sims From A to Z RCA Victor 1956 The Al Cohn Zoot Sims Sextet Down Home Bethlehem 1960 References edit a b c d Keepnews Peter 20 October 2008 Dave McKenna 78 Jazz Pianist Dies The New York Times Retrieved 4 January 2018 a b Colin Larkin ed 1992 The Guinness Who s Who of Jazz First ed Guinness Publishing p 268 ISBN 0 85112 580 8 a b Yanow Scott Dave McKenna AllMusic Retrieved 4 January 2018 Dave McKenna Albums and Discography AllMusic Retrieved 2023 08 01 a b c Dave McKenna www sandybrownjazz co uk Retrieved 2023 08 01 Keepnews Peter 2008 10 20 Dave McKenna Pianist Known for Solo Jazz Work Dies at 78 NY Times External links editDave McKenna Piano s Most Valuable Player Remembering Jazz Pianist Dave McKenna at NPR Music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dave McKenna amp oldid 1218367706, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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