Dave "Fingers" McKenna

by Dave McKenna

Overview

Dave McKenna is at his best playing solo piano, as on this two-day session in the studio from 1977. McKenna's strength lies in his basslines and his ability to uplift tunes that often sound hackneyed in the hands of lesser musicians, such as "My Melancholy Baby" and "Somebody Stole My Gal," both of which find the pianist at his most inventive. Also present are overlooked gems like Zez Confrey's "Stumbling" and Irving Berlin's moving ballad "All Alone," played with the melodic swing that jazz fans have come to expect of McKenna. This long-unavailable LP was finally reissued on CD in 2000, with the addition of five bonus tracks, including a loping but brisk treatment of Bob Wills' Texas swing hit "San Antonio Rose" as well as obscurities like the rollicking "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place" and "Willie the Weeper." This solo piano CD should be considered essential by fans of swing. ~ Ken Dryden

Product Details

Release Date:	06/20/2000
Label:	Chiaroscuro / Chiaroscuro Records
UPC:	0091454017522
Rank:	238693

Tracks

1. My Melancholy Baby
2. Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home
3. Lonesome Me
4. Chloe
5. Stumbling
6. Somebody Stole My Gal
7. As Time Goes By
8. Someday, Sweetheart
9. All Alone
10. The Curse of an Aching Heart
11. Melancholy
12. San Antonio Rose
13. The Curse of an Aching Heart, No. 2
14. Somebody Else Is Taking My Place
15. Willie the Weeper and Blues
16. Blues, Mainly Tin Roof

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dave McKenna   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Fred Miller   Engineer
Zez Confrey   Composer
Bob Wills   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Confrey   Composer
Benjamin Franklin Spikes   Composer
Fats Waller   Composer
Ernie Burnett   Composer
Russ Morgan   Composer
Walter Melrose   Composer
John Spikes   Composer
Leo Wood   Composer
Hughie Cannon   Composer
Richard Howard   Composer
Al Jolson   Composer
Buddy DeSylva   Composer
Hank O'Neal   Producer,Liner Notes
Dave McKenna   Composer
Con Conrad   Composer
Jon Bates   Editing,Digital Mastering
Marty Bloom   Composer
Rollo Phlecks   Photography
Arthur Piantadosi   Composer
Al Piantadosi   Composer
Grant Rymal   Composer
John DeVries   Cover Design
George Norton   Composer
Andy Razaf   Composer
Bob Ellsworth   Composer