"May be Dave's best offering. Exceptional solo piano from start to finish. Like fine wine, Mr. McKenna keeps getting better."
The BEST solo pianist at his best.
E. Hawkins | Sydney, Australia | 07/18/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Dave McKenna is the best solo pianist around, bar none. I hope the guy lives forever, but when he does eventually leave us his left hand should be placed in a museum somewhere, because no-one else can supply the beat, basslines, and guitar-strumming effects that McKenna does. 'Easy Street' is one of his most entertaining sets, and 'On the Street Where You Live' in particular is a classic. Even Oscar Peterson, backed by Ray Brown and Herb Ellis, never swung as hard as Dave does on this track."
Something new each time
E. Eligator | Chicago, IL | 02/16/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Put simply, this is a great CD. If you're not sure about which jazz piano CD to buy as a gift for a friend or maybe for yourself, make the decision easy - buy two of this one. Give one away, keep one for yourself, and listen to it a few times. You'll find something new each time. Dave's sytle is so rich, fluid, swinging, musical, and fast, that you just can't hear it all in one go. Incredibly, it sometimes sounds as if there are four hands playing. At others you simply can't take your ears off of his amazing swinging bass lines. Then all of a sudden he surprises you by seemlessly dropping in a few lush chords, then goes back to the swinging line, all the while jsmming with the right hand. It's just great music."
Very nice
Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 08/22/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you've ever heard Dave McKenna play in a live setting, chances are you've heard him string together, in medley fashion, a number of songs similar in title. He does the same thing here - twice: first a number of tunes with "Street" in their titles and then a bunch more with "Gone" as part of their names, and they're not performed as medleys but as individual tunes. It's a clever approach and gives the impression that Dave must know a thousand songs, which he probably does. It's also true that McKenna is definitely a two-handed piano player with his left hand often being the dominant one. On medium-up and up-tempo performances his pounding left hand pushes the playing along briskly, with each chorus coming across more dramatically than the last. BROADWAY, DON'T FORGET 127th STREET, and MY HONEY'S LOVIN' ARMS all get this powerful treatment. On the slower tunes we get two different approaches, one tender and very restrained (EASY STREET, GONE WITH THE WIND), the other not at all tender but robust and even wrenching in its extraction of the tunes' beauty (WHEN YOUR LOVER HAS GONE, AFTER YOU'VE GONE). This dichotomy in his ballad playing is most interesting and appealing. Dave McKenna is a wonderful piano player; fans of his playing will be happy with this CD."