Dave McKenna

Dave McKenna (30 May 1930 – 18 October 2008, Woonsocket, Rhode Island) was an American jazz pianist. Known primarily as a solo pianist and for his distinctive "three-handed" swing style, he was a significant figure in the evolution of jazz piano.

Starting out at the age of 15, McKenna played with Boots Mussulli (1947), Charlie Ventura (1949) and Woody Herman's Orchestra (1950–51). He then spent two years in the military, and re-joined Ventura (1953–54).

He worked with a variety of top swing and Dixieland musicians including Gene Krupa, Joe Venuti, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Bob Wilbur, Eddie Condon, and Bobby Hackett but became primarily a soloist after 1967, especially in the Northeast United States. McKenna performed with Louis Armstrong at the 1970 Newport Jazz Festival. He was also known as a wonderful accompanist, recording with singers such as Rosemary Clooney, Teddi King and Donna Byrne, and recording a PBS special with Tony Bennett.

McKenna started to be recognized in his own right during the 1970s, but chose to play in his local area rather than travel extensively. He preferred playing in clubs and hotels over getting center stage in major venues. He could be found playing in hotel piano bars in Massachusetts, including a decade-long run at Boston's grand Copley Plaza Hotel that ended in 1991 when the Plaza was sold. The new owners briefly turned the Plaza Bar into a cabaret, but the new format was never as popular as McKenna and ended within a year. Unfortunately, the damage was done and, because McKenna was much in demand, he returned to the Plaza for only a single night.

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