John McKenna Quartet
The Quartet:
John McKenna - tenor saxophone
Bruce Barth - piano
Anthony Santor - bass
Victor Lewis - drums
About John McKenna:
Saxophonist with 20 plus years of professional experience performing & teaching in New York City, the New England area, and beyond.
Lived and played professionally in New York City between 1989 and 2006. Currently lives in Barrington, Rhode Island. Performs gigs, writes music and also teaches as part of the jazz faculty at the University of Rhode Island (URI).
Performance highlights:
Played at the Village Vanguard nightclub in NYC with Joe Lovano’s “Celebrating Sinatra” group. Toured in Europe and the U.S. with this ensemble playing concerts at jazz festivals including North Sea, Montreaux, Torino, Pori Finland, Istanbul Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
Performed in concert with the Red Rodney Quintet along with Danilo Perez & Buster Williams. Stanford, CA.
Played concerts at the Jazz Composer’s Collective and also at the Modern Museum of Art in NYC with trumpet player Ron Horton, saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, pianist Frank Kimbrough and bassist Ben Allison and drummer Rich Rosenswieg.
Performed with the Village Vanguard’s Monday night big band on two occasions.
Played with the Kurt Rosenwinkle quartet at Smalls nightclub, NYC 1998 along with bassist Ben Street and Jeff Ballard on drums.
Performed in concerts at e Kennedy Center in D.C. on two occasions: once with Rita Moreno & Carol Channing and another time with Joe Lovano’s group. Also performed in a two month U.S. tour with Rita Moreno & Carol Channing.
Played several gigs in drummer Tootie Heath’s trio along with bassist Michael Zisman.
Toured across Canada playing clubs and festivals with guitarist Dawn Thomson.
Played with organist & pianist Larry Goldings trio, along with Idris Muhamd on drums, at the Iron Horse club in MA.
Played in a quintet that featured Phil Grenadier on trumpet, Larry Grenadier on bass, Mark Levine on piano and Jeff Ballard on drums.
Select Recordings:
John McKenna Quartet Portraits (2020) A new recording featuring master jazz drummer Victor Lewis, pianist Bruce Barth and bassist Anthony Santor. All original music by John McKenna. Recorded and mixed in NYC at Sear Sound by James Farber. Mastered at Yes Master Studios in Nashville, TN. October 2020 release on Jeff Coffin’s Ear Up Records label.
Big Stu - Larry Goldings (Warner Bros. Records) With Bill Stewart, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Idris Muhamad and others.
Actual Size - Peggy Stern (Kotch) With Ron Horton, Art Barron, Bernard Perdie, Harvey Schwartz and Tony Moreno.
As a leader:
The Solar Side (Igmod) with Larry Goldings, Larry Grenadier and Victor Lewis.
Apparition (Igmod) with Anton Denner, Ron Horton, Bill Carrothers, Doug Weiss and Hugh Sicotte.
Genius Envy - Ron Horton (Kotch) with Jane Ira Bloom, Frank Kimbrough, Ben Allison and Rich Rosenswieg.
Imagine That - Dawn Thomson (NY Jam) with Renee Rosnes, Doug Weiss and Kenny Wollosen.
The Matt Hong Quartet - Matt Hong with Hans Glavischnic and Scott Neuman.
High Noon (Collective band) with Jon Dryden, Roland Schnieder and Hans Glavischnic.
