Dave McKenna : the key man / directed and produced by Greg Mallozzi.

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Mallozzi, Greg, director, producer, editor of moving image work.

Qwest TV, publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pianists--United States--Biography.

Pianists.

Jazz musicians--United States--Biography.

Jazz musicians.

McKenna, Dave.

Genre:

Documentary films.

Biographical films.

Feature films.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (56 minutes)

Place of Publication:

Paris, France : Qwest TV, 2022.

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

Talent, peer recognition and success with the general public do not always go hand in hand. This is what the documentary The Key Man: Dave Mckenna reveals, implicitly. Pianist Dave Mckenna (1930 – 2008), who began his career in Charlie Ventura's orchestra and played over the years with such famous artists as Louis Armstrong, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, and Scott Hamilton, has left the image of a classical pianist at play who is undoubtedly more in the elegant tradition of Teddy Wilson than that of Art Tatum or the more voluble pianists with whom some like to associate him. The solo albums where he improvises on standards demonstrate a superlative technique ("one had the impression of hearing two pianos" affirm those who heard him in clubs) as well as a sense of sound architecture based on the firmness of the bass line. The final bars of a solo accompany the final credits; listening to them, we think that he was indeed the "monumental talent" whose memory the film seeks to defend. It is because the documentary subtly sketches the enigmatic side of the personality of Dave McKenna that we understand why his modesty, his shyness, his fondness for drink, his desire to play in clubs rather than on long tours meant that he never achieved the notoriety he deserved. Philippe Lesage.

Notes:

Title from title screen (viewed June 19, 2025).

OCLC:

1527824802