A Handful of Stars

A Handful of Stars Artist: Dave McKenna
Label: Concord Records
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 013431458029
EAN: 0013431458029
ASIN: B0000006MK


Release Date: 1993-10-26

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Listmania:

  1. Dave McKenna CDs: Here's How I Rank Them

Tracks:

  1. Estrela, Estrela
  2. Star Eyes
  3. A Handful Of Stars
  4. Stairway To The Stars
  5. Stardust
  6. Swinging On A Star
  7. Lost In The Stars
  8. The Stars Fell On Alabama
  9. Stella By Starlight
  10. Star Kissed
  11. Stardreams
  12. Estrellita
  13. A Song From The Stars
  14. I've Told Every Little Star
  15. When You Wish Upon A Star
  16. Estrela, Estrela

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Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Immaculate solo piano.......2001-02-18

Dave McKenna is one of the most consistent of pianists--his run of discs for the Concord label is of invariably high quality. Most of them are solo discs, & this is no exception; as usual with McKenna, his fondness for theme-based albums (this one, as the title indicates, includes only tunes with the word "star" in the title) works out for the best, prompting a mixture of classic chestnuts like "Lost in the Stars" & "Stella by Starlight", & little-played tunes like "Count Every Star" and "Swinging on a Star".

This is one of McKenna's gentler discs, perhaps a touch too dreamy; his hard-swinging side comes out only occasionally. But it gives the listener a good chance to hear his beautifully warm & thoughtful ballad-playing. McKenna is so unflashy that the casual listener may miss the amazing technical skill on display, in his ability to unfussily shift melody and chording between hands (& digits). His sense of swing is rock-steady, so much so that he is one of the few pianists with whom a drummer or bassist would be a distraction.

This isn't perhaps quite McKenna's finest work--I like the near-contemporaneous disc _Shadows and Dream_ a tad better, I think (sure enough, it's a collection of tunes with "shadow" and "dream" in their titles). But it still is more than worthwhile. Concord's Maybeck Recital Hall series sometimes suggests that contemporary jazz solo piano is too full of flash & complexity; McKenna's approach cuts out all the fat: it's about as close to purity as modern jazz gets.

3 out of 5 stars I like, like this cd more, more than any other by D.M........2001-02-15

I guess i'm in the minority with this opinion, but this is by far the best cd that I have ever heard from Dave Mckenna. It is a very exciting cd. It has already become my favorite cd by Dave.

On this cd Dave plays a lot of my favorite songs. He uses great control to not mess up these songs. He does improvise a little, but not to any extreme. He gives most of the songs a nice taste.

You jazz fans out there, listen up. This cd is one that you will cherish. Please give this cd a chance.

Recommendation: Buy this cd and enjoy!

Music CD:

  1. Common Man ~ Pete Zimmer Quintet
  2. Polar AC ~ Freddie Hubbard
  3. Weaver of Dreams ~ Peter Guidi
  4. Cotton Picker's Scat: 1930 ~ McKinney's Cotton Pickers
  5. Soundtrack to Human Motion ~ Jason Moran
  6. Lucky Meets Tommy & Friends ~ Lucky Thompson
  7. Soul Manifesto Live ~ Rodney Jones
  8. The World's Getting Loud ~ Alex de Grassi
  9. Super Bass ~ Ray Brown
  10. Perception ~ Lou Blackburn & Freddie Hill

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Carz ~ Fredi Kruga

Umbrellas ~ Umbrellas

Vanity Pressed: a Collection

Minnows ~ Marc Benno

Touched ~ Ken Stringfellow

1950's ~ Cliff Richard

Sol-fa ~ Asian Kung-Fu Generation

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ~ Harry Gregson-Williams

Cadillacs N Regals ~ Stash

Get in Touch with Me ~ D-Nice