A fixture at the Concord label for over two decades, pianist
Dave McKenna has recorded countless exciting sessions, both as a leader and as a sideman. This single-disc sampler from 1998 therefore only hints at the many
McKenna recordings. There are five unaccompanied piano solos (including "If Dreams Come True"), duets with guitarist
Gray Sargent ("'Deed I Do"), baritonist
Joe Temperley and clarinetist
Buddy DeFranco, a quartet number ("No More Ouzo for Puzo"), and a trio piece with tenorman
Scott Hamilton.
McKenna really came into his own during his Concord years, and this brief retrospective does him justice.
–
Scott Yanow, Rovi