Cheap Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 2 (Music) (Dave McKenna) Price

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Customer Reviews of Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 2

A Pianist's Pianist
Since the evolution of the acoustic bass and improved recording technology, most jazz pianists have neglected left-hand technique, using the appendage less for rhythmic purposes than to fill out the harmony a bit and to "position" themselves in the chord sequence that the right hand is improvising upon. As a result, solo piano represents a formidable challenge for most players--virtually all of whom either allow the rhythm to be implied or overcompensate by playing with lots of additional notes in the right hand. Dave McKenna is the most notable exception in jazz.

And unlike the remaining "two-handed, two-beat" players who risk sounding dated by imitating the "stride piano" style of Fats Waller or James P. Johnson, McKenna reproduces the 4/4 rhythmic foundation of post-swing era musicians. He walks bass lines with the harmonic independence and rock steady time of the best bass players and drummers--while improvising independent, no-frills melodies in the right hand.

This recording of a live concert date before a small but "knowing" audience captures the virtuosity as well as the essence of McKenna better than any other album by him. Besides demonstrating his musicianship, it reveals his enormous repertory and his taste and imagination in selecting tunes and grouping them in medleys. Who would have ever thought of coming up with a "Knowledge" medley, and who would have known ten different tunes answering to the theme? This is one of the recordings I play not simply for pleasure but, in more ways than one, for knowledge.

Impeccable solo piano
Dave McKenna is one of the few pianists who actually has a sense of swing & time that is better than most drummers & bassists. Concord usually records him in a solo setting & that's actually his best format, showing off his unique combination of delicacy & barrelhouse power. He has a formidable amount of pop songs in his head, & likes to medley them in themed groupings: the medley here is about "Knowledge", & includes a wonderfully hard-hitting "I Didn't Know What Time It Was", a gentle "I Didn't Know about You" & a rousing "I Never Knew". The encore is a "Limehouse Blues" that nicely shows off in succession his dreamy & swinging sides. McKenna is never less than excellent on any of his recordings--he's a pro's pro--& this is as solid as any of them.