World On A String

Larry McKenna and strings

Through his six-decade career, Philadelphia legend Larry McKenna has cemented his reputation as a world-class saxophone player, improvisor and teacher.

Known for his gorgeous tenor saxophone sound, the beauty of his balladry, and his fluid, bebop-inspired improvisations, McKenna has performed and recorded with many of the top jazz artists of his time including Robert “Bootsie” Barnes, Tony Bennett, Randy Brecker, Bill Charlap, Rosemary Clooney, Barry Harris, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Marsalis, Frank Sinatra, Terell Stafford and Clark Terry.

Equally recognized as an incredible composer, songwriter and arranger, he has received vast critical acclaim for albums featuring his own compositions and arrangements including My Shining Hour – Music of Harold Arlen (1995), It Might As Well Be Spring (2001), Profile (2009), From All Sides (2013), and his collaboration with Bootsie Barnes The More I See You (2018).

This album, World on a String, was born out of a collaboration between McKenna and fellow tenor saxophonist and arranger Jack Saint Clair. Supported by a community of artists, it is the first album to feature Larry McKenna and strings.

The arrangements and the original composition “Samba De Else” featured on World on a String were first performed for a sold-out audience on October 12, 2021 at Philadelphia’s World Café Live. McKenna described this evening as “a career highlight,” and immediately thereafter, the 11 musicians who made that evening happen recorded this album to document it for all time.

Stream and Download

World On A String is available for streaming and download on all major platforms.

Performers

Larry McKenna, tenor saxophone 
Jack Saint Clair, tenor saxophone 
Silas Irvine, piano 
Joe Plowman, bass 
Dan Monaghan, drums 
Meghan Woodard, oboe, English horn 
Alberta Douglas, violin 
Justin Yoder, cello 
Nellie Smith, cello 
Chen Chen, cello  
Gloria Galante, harp 

Conducted by Jack Saint Clair.
String Arrangements by Jack Saint Clair and Larry McKenna.

Executive Producers - David Pasbrig, Robert Stroker, Dan Monaghan
Producer - John Vanore
Recording Engineers - Jeff Hiatt, David Pasbrig, Brian Woestehoff
Editing - John Senior
Mixing and Mastering - John Vanore at Acoustical Concepts
Photography - Bryan Murray
Design - Pao Navarro
Recorded in Glassboro, NJ and Philadelphia, PA