Eric Johnson, "A Professor of Note," The Minnesota Daily:
"University [Professor] Larry McDonough, ... at a piano grooving to a 5/4 beat, ... is an accomplished jazz pianist....
Dave Brubeck, an experimental jazz composer and pianist, inspired him musically. Dave Brubeck's album, 'Time Out' challenged the way music was played. He seemed to say,'Why play things the way they've always been played?' I like that,' McDonough says. It was at this point when McDonough began to find a knack for altering the meter of traditional songs, creating unique and original pieces. Among the songs which McDonough has reconstructed and rearranged are Eric Clapton's Layla,' the Beatles' Good Day Sunshine' and Miles Davis' All Blues.' He also has created more dissonant versions of Linus and Lucy,' If I Only had a Brain' and My Favorite Things.'....
Musically, McDonough plays solo shows, duets and in a band, Bozo Allegro. He has performed for former First Lady Hillary Clinton, President Nixon, and the President of Mexico. His album, Small Steps,' contains three new arrangements of pop songs, three arrangements of classic jazz songs and two original pieces. The title track of the album is McDonough's response to John Coltrane's Giant Steps.'"
