Hamline-Midway "Music Man" a Renaissance Kind of Guy
By Arnold Stead
"Larry McDonough is not only a superb pianist-composer-singer, but also a tenants attorney with Minneapolis Legal Aid....
I felt the quiet intensity the listener encounters in his music. The intensity provides a background for the pianist's innovative, playful, and deciding original reshaping of jazz and pop classics. By changing the time signatures of standards like "If I Only Has a Brain," "My Favorite Things," "Days of Wine and Roes," "Take the A Train," "Gob Bless America," "Star Spangled Banner," " Summer Time," and others from 4/4 to 5/4, or occasionally 7/4, McDonough offers his audience a swinging and provocative music.
But what makes his sound most engaging is its wide appeal. The listener with formal musical training is sure to appreciate its technical innovations, while the untrained ear can tap his or her foot and enjoy some playful renditions of familiar tunes. When Larry does "If I Only Has a Brain," you don't need formal training to hear snippets from three other Wizard of Oz tunes.
McDonough's work has aroused the comparisons to more celebrated, and even legendary, musicians that music critics are prone to make. He is most often compared to the late Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, and Herbie Hancock. Larry cites Evans as a conscious influence, and the cerebrally intense yet intimate sound of Evan's work with the late Miles Davis - and as a soloist - can be heard in McDonough's playing."
