Dave Mckenna
One of the top swing-based pianists of the past 25 years, Dave McKenna's hard-driving basslines give momentum to uptempo pieces, and his vast knowledge of superior songs from the 1930s has resulted in many rewarding albums of traditional but fresh music. Although talented from the start, McKenna did not achieve that much recognition until he was already in his forties. He joined the Musicians' Union when he was 15 and picked up early experience playing with Boots Mussulli (1947), Charlie Ventura (1949), and Woody Herman's Orchestra (1950-1951). After two years in the military, McKenna had a second stint with Ventura (1953-1954) and then worked with a variety of top swing and Dixieland players including Gene Krupa, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Eddie Condon, Bobby Hackett, and Bob Wilber (in the late '70s), and was a soloist at piano bars in Massachusetts. McKenna had recorded for ABC-Paramount (1956), Epic (1958), Bethlehem (a two-piano date shared with Hall Overton in 1960), and Realm (1963), but in 1973, McKenna's talents finally began to be more fully documented. He led sets for Halycon, Shiah, Famous Door, Inner City (with vocalist Teddi King), and four for Chiaroscuro. And then in 1979 with No Bass Hit (a trio date with Scott Hamilton and Jake Hanna), McKenna debuted with Concord, finding his home. He has made many sessions for Concord ever since, some as a sideman or with small groups, but the best ones being unaccompanied recitals. In the mid-'90s Dave McKenna was at the top of his field.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
Discography
21 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Dual Piano Jazz (Remastered 2014)
Jazz - Released by Bethlehem Records on 29 Jul 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas Party - Holiday Piano Spiked With Swing
Christmas Music - Released by Concord Records on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Maybeck Recital Series, Vol. 2 (Live At Maybeck Recital Hall, Berkeley, CA / November 1989)
Jazz - Released by Concord Jazz on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dave McKenna: Solo
Jazz - Released by Chiaroscuro Records on 4 Mar 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dave Fingers McKenna
Jazz - Released by Chiaroscuro Records on 1 May 1977
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dancing In The Dark
Jazz - Released by Concord Records on 1 Aug 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Piano Scene Of Dave Mckenna
Jazz - Released by Lone Hill Jazz on 1 Jan 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Original Wilber (Remastered 2022)
Bob Wilber, Dave Mckenna, Pug Horton
Jazz - Released by Phontastic on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Piano Scene of Dave McKenna
Jazz - Released by Ascension Records on 30 May 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Groovin' at the Grünewald (Remastered 2022)
Jazz - Released by Phontastic on 1 Sep 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music For Singing Moderns
Dick Johnson Quartet, Dave Mckenna, Philly Joe Jones
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on 11 Nov 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Solo
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on 11 Nov 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Essential Piano Masters
Jazz - Released by Master Classics Records on 1 May 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Piano Scene of Dave Mckenna (feat. John Drew & Osie Johnson) [Bonus Track Version]
Jazz - Released by Plenty Jazz Records on 15 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Further On
Jazz - Released by nagel heyer records on 12 Feb 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
In Another Life
Jazz - Released by Nagel heyer records on 19 Jun 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hear Me Now
Jazz - Released by nagel heyer records on 15 Oct 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Honeysuckle Rose
Dave Mckenna, Charlie Ventura, Mousey Alexander, Bill Bean, Richard Davis
Jazz - Released by Crazy Warthog Media on 1 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo