Jazz pianist. He specialized in performing as a solo musician, and developed a style known as "three-handed swing". Raised in a musical family (his father was a part-time drummer, and his mother a pianist), he played in Boston area clubs as a teenager, then moved on to "Big Bands" led by Woody Herman and Charlie Ventura...after two years in the Army, he shifted to playing with small groups, the first led by Stan Getz, and solo. Over the years, he developed a distinctive style, called variously "strum" or "three-handed swing", involving a walking bass line, midrange chords, and an improvised melody that more often ornamented an existing tune than composed a new one. Mr. McKenna's live performances centered mainly in New York and New England; he was pianist at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston during the 1980s. His first record was cut for ABC Paramount in 1955, but creation of his vast recorded legacy did not really begin until he signed with Concord Records in the late 1970s...his albums had titles like "Left Handed Complement" and "My Friend The Piano". He retired around 2000.
Jazz pianist. He specialized in performing as a solo musician, and developed a style known as "three-handed swing". Raised in a musical family (his father was a part-time drummer, and his mother a pianist), he played in Boston area clubs as a teenager, then moved on to "Big Bands" led by Woody Herman and Charlie Ventura...after two years in the Army, he shifted to playing with small groups, the first led by Stan Getz, and solo. Over the years, he developed a distinctive style, called variously "strum" or "three-handed swing", involving a walking bass line, midrange chords, and an improvised melody that more often ornamented an existing tune than composed a new one. Mr. McKenna's live performances centered mainly in New York and New England; he was pianist at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston during the 1980s. His first record was cut for ABC Paramount in 1955, but creation of his vast recorded legacy did not really begin until he signed with Concord Records in the late 1970s...his albums had titles like "Left Handed Complement" and "My Friend The Piano". He retired around 2000.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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