Adjunct Prof. Larry McDonough Puts On A Wellstone Benefit and CD Release Party for May 9
April 4, 2003
Page 5
Law School Adjunct Professor Larry McDonough 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, There is a $10 cover charge.
"Tuscarora: Short Stories for Jazz Piano" contains original music, as well as arrangements of jazz, popular, religious, and historical music in different times signatures and harmonies, such as "Amazing Grace" and "My Favorite Things" in 5/4, and " We Shall Overcome" and "Star Spangled Banner" as jazz ballads. 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."
The CD and the party are dedicated to the memory of Paul and Sheila Wellstone, Marcia Wellstone Markuson, Mary McEvoy, Tom Lapic, and William McLaughlin, who died in the October 25, 2002 plane crash, and benefit Wellstone Action, a tax-exempt organization formed to carry on their work. 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 country last fall, and is posted on his website: www.larrymcdonoughjazz.homestead.com.
McDonough will be joined by his Off Beat Quintet, including trumpeter Phil Holm, saxophonist Dick Terrill, bassist Elizabeth Draper, and drummer Chaz Draper.
Off Beat presents original pieces and arrangements 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 "Small Steps," "Linus and Lucy" and "Nature Boy", and 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 him 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 graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from the University of Minnesota in 1978, and 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 critically acclaimed 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.
McDonough received his Juris Doctor degree with honors from William Mitchell College of Law in 1983. He currently works at Minneapolis Legal Aid as a tenants' attorney, where 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.
For more information, go to http:// www.larrymcdonoughjazz.homestead.com
