"Some very cool music.... Off beat jazz classics,' just 4/4 music isn't good enough for [McDonough].... 5/4 and 7/4 ... have fun with it.... I love this 5/4 [Take the 5A Train']. Do some more!" Lou Harvin, NewsNight Minnesota, TPT Public Television Chs. 2 & 17, St. Paul.
Larry McDonough has taken jazz classics and put them into different time signatures, changing the rythmn and feel of the tunes.
Pieces originally in 4/4 time are now done in 5/4 time, which is the rythmn of “Mission Impossible” and “Take 5", including“Take the A Train” (now called “Take the 5-A Train”), “My Favorite Things,” and “Aja.”
Other early arrangements include 7/4 versions of “Cantaloupe Island,” “Simple Gifts,” “Red River Valley” and “Summertime,” 3/4 arrangements of “If I Only Had a Brain,” “Ode to Joy,” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” and Adagio by Samuel Barber with a mixture of 4/4 and 5/4 meters.
McDonough premiered his “Off Beat” Quintet at Dakota Bar and Grill for a radio concert broadcast live on KBEM Jazz88 FM 88.5 FM and over the internet at www.jazz88fm.com. McDonough performed some early versions of the “Off Beat” arrangements in a duo with Phil Holm on trumpet on NewsNight Minnesota on Twin Cities Public Television. The Larry McDonough Group continues to perform in jazz clubs and festivals around the country.
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