Journalist, Political Reporter, Cultural Critic, Editor/Proofreader
Alex V. Henderson
Philadelphia, PA
vixenatr
June 2019
Encore: Larry McKenna
By Alex Henderson
Tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna has been a fixture on the Philadelphia jazz scene for well over 60 years, performing with many iconic Philadelphians along the way, including clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath, pianist Kenny Barron and trumpeter Randy Brecker, as well as his share of New Yorkers. In 2018, he co-led a studio date with fellow tenor saxophonist and octogenarian Bootsie Barnes, The More I See You for Vancouver-based Cellar Live.
McKenna and Barnes have many things in common:both were born in 1937 (McKenna in July, Barnes in November); have been active on the Philly scene since the ‘50s; play hardbop; and favor a lyrical yet hard-swinging approach to the tenor saxophone. McKenna and Barnes have been performing two-tenor gigs in Philly since the ‘80s, when they first shared the stage at Ortlieb’s.
“We were a big hit at Ortlieb’s,” McKenna recalls. “A lot of people said it was reminiscent of the old tenor groups like Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons, Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis and Johnny Griffin, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray. This was a Philly version of the two-tenor thing.”
The More I See You came about after McKenna, Barnes, organ player Lucas Brown and drummer Byron Landham played a concert at Penn State Abington in the Philly suburbs. After Cory Weeds saw a video of that concert online, he got in touch with McKenna.
“Cory said, ‘Can you get the same group to record for me? I want to put it out on my label’,” McKenna remembers. “So I called the guys. We had one short rehearsal and recorded the album. I did some of the arrangements and Bootsie did some.”
McKenna arranged Harry Warren’s title track and Henry Mancini’s “Mr. Lucky” while Barnes provided arrangements for Peter Nero’s “Sunday in New York” and Hank Mobley’s “The Break Through”. The saxophonists acknowledge a fellow Philadelphian, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath, on their performance of his “For Minors Only.”
“Even though our styles are somewhat different and our sounds are somewhat different, Bootsie and I match up really well together, for some reason,” McKenna observes. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, this guy sounds totally different from the other guy and they don’t make a good team.’ We noticed that from the very first time we ever played together: even though the styles are contrasting, we’re able to feed off of each other.” McKenna adds, “You could always tell Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons apart, but still, they made a perfectly good team. A lot of it has to do with spurring each other on. Bootsie and I seem to have that kind of chemistry.”
McKenna’s first big break came in 1959, when he was hired to play in Woody Herman’s big band. The saxophonist kept busy with performances and teaching in the ‘60s-80s, but it wasn’t until 1997 that he recorded his first studio album, My Shining Hour: Larry McKenna Plays Harold Arlen, for Pittsburgh-based Alanna Records. Albums for Dreambox Media and other labels followed and McKenna’s live activities in recent years have ranged from big bands to small groups.
Numerous jazz greats came out of Philly over the years. Some of them moved to New York City, the West Coast or Europe; others opted to stay. McKenna falls into the second category, although he toyed with the idea of a move to either NYC or Los Angeles in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
“The only time I’ve ever really entertained any idea about moving away from Philadelphia was when I was really young,” McKenna explains. “There were some guys I knew who wanted to move to New York; they wanted to get an apartment. We went up to New York apartment-hunting. We were just driving around New York and I thought, ‘I don’t really want to live up here. If I’m going to move somewhere, I want to move where it’s going to be warm.’ I’ve always hated the cold weather.”
After considering a move to Los Angeles in order to escape Philly’s winters, McKenna decided that from a career standpoint, he was better offstaying in Philly. “It wasn’t easy for me to break into the jazz scene in Los Angeles and I never really wanted to live in New York,” McKenna remembers. “So I just stayed here in Philadelphia. I got teaching gigs. I worked all the time. I’ve never been without gigs here. So there was no real reason for me to move.”
For more information, visit larrymckenna.com. McKenna is at Smalls Jun. 23rd with Sam Taylor. See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:
• Woody Herman—The New Swingin’ Herman Herd (Crown, 1960)
• Buddy DeFranco with Al Raymond All Star Big Jazz Band—Born to Swing! (Star Satellite, 1987)
• Larry McKenna—My Shining Hour: Larry McKenna Plays Harold Arlen (Alanna, 1997
• Frank Tiberi—4 Brothers 7 (Jazzed Media, 1998)
• Larry McKenna—It Might As Well Be Spring (Dreambox Media, 2000)
• Sam Taylor Quartet with Larry McKenna—Along the Way (Cellar Live, 2017)
Copyright 2022 Alex V. Henderson. All rights reserved.
Alex V. Henderson
Philadelphia, PA
vixenatr