William Mitchell College of Law Student Newspaper
March 2003
"WMCL Alum Puts on a Wellstone Benefit and CD Release Party for May 9"
WMCL alumnus Larry McDonough ('83) has been a Legal Aid attorney for almost 20 years, in rural and urban offices around Minnesota. Before law school, he was a high school band director and jazz pianist, and he has continued to play ever since.
On Friday, May 9, McDonough will celebrate the release of his second solo piano CD, "Tuscarora: Short Stories for Jazz Piano," with a CD release party and benefit at Dakota at Bandana Square, Energy Park Drive, St. Paul, 651-642-1442, Dakotajazz@aol.com, www.dakotacooks.com. There is a $10 cover charge.
John Ziegler, of KUMD Radio in Duluth, calls the CD "Contemplative, but with a certain intensity that kept my ears perked. Larry's touch and choice of harmonies reminds me of standing outside on a clear, cold night and looking up at the stars."
McDonough knew the Wellstones for many years, both as a attorney advising them on national housing policy, and as a pianist playing at their events. His remembrance of them was published around the coun-try last fall, and is posted on his website, http://www.larrymcdonough-jazz. homestead.com.
McDonough will be joined by his Off Beat Quintet, including trumpeter Phil Holm, saxophonist Dick Terrill, bassist Elizabeth Draper, and drum-mer Chaz Draper. Off Beat present arrangements and original pieces with unusual time signatures, rhythms and harmonies, such as "Dame la Mano" (aka "Red River Valley") in 7/4 time, "This Land is Your Land" in 5/4 time, with Copeland harmonies and new lyrics to fit the times, "A Rose for Two", an original written along with kids with disabilities in a Bill Evan's style, and "God Bless America" in 5/4 time with Turkish rhythms and minor harmonies.
They also will perform other pieces from his first CD, "Small Steps", which continues to be played on radio stations around the world and on the internet, including the origi-nal piece "Small Steps","Linus and Lucy" and "Nature Boy", and from the demo, "Larry McDonough and Off Beat: Live, Cooking at the Dakota", including "Take the A Train" in 5/4, and "Cantaloupe Island" in 7/4.
Reviewers have compared McDonough to Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Ian Underwood, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, John Fahey, Herbie Hancock, Patricia Barber, and Claude Debussy.
McDonough has performed for 30 years with local and national jazz artists. He was a regular on the Twin Cities jazz scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He then cut back on public performances to raise three young daughters.
McDonough reentered the jazz scene in the late 1990s, first with the jazz fusion group Bozo Allegro, and then on his own with his first solo piano CD, "Small Steps." He has performed for President Nixon, the President of Mexico, and First Lady Hillary Clinton. He recently appeared with legendary jazz-funk trombonist and national recording artist Fred Wesley.
He currently works at Minneapolis Legal Aid as a tenants' attorney, where he developed the housing law manual and forms for www.ProBono.net/mn, used by Legal Aid and pro bono attorneys around the state and country. He has been recognized by the Minnesota Law and Politics as a "Super Lawyer", and by William Mitchell College of Law as one of "100 Who Made a Difference" over the 100 year history of the school. He also teaches Poverty Law and the Housing Law Clinic at the University of Minnesota and University of St. Thomas Schools of Law.
