Philly sax great Larry McKenna will celebrate new album from the audience after stroke

Larry McKenna’s gorgeous new album, World on a String, has been a long time coming. Rooted in the 85-year-old saxophonist’s love of “with strings” projects by idols like Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Stan Getz, it’s taken nearly two years to bring the project to fruition.

“I’ve been thinking about it my whole life,” McKenna said last week with typical understatement.

The music was originally conceived for a single concert, which took place at World Café Live in October 2021. By the time the night was over, everyone involved was determined that it should be recorded for posterity.

Looking back at the concert, McKenna beamed at the praise of one fan who likened his playing to Frank Sinatra’s phrasing. “That’s the best compliment I could have gotten,” he said.

“On the way home from the gig, Larry described it as a career highlight,” drummer Dan Monaghan recalled. “Every gig for me with Larry McKenna is a career highlight, but for Larry to say something like that was special.”

» READ MORE: Two Philly jazz masters celebrate their 80th birthdays (and their best-friendship)

World on a String came about thanks to the dedication of several of McKenna’s closest collaborators and former students. Saxophonist Jack Saint Clair came up with the idea and shared arranging duties with McKenna, substituting three cellos and a violin as thestring section in place of the usual string quartet, along with oboe, harp and a jazz rhythm section.

The long-cherished project arrives at a particularly challenging time for the Philly sax legend. Just two weeks before the album’s release, McKenna suffered a stroke that has left him temporarily unable to play his horn. Instead of canceling the album’s release event, a number of longtime friends were invited to step in and play his parts.

McKenna will be in attendance this Wednesday night, celebrating the album’s launch, at Conshohocken’s Spring Mill Ballroom. On stage, the band and strings will be joined by trumpeters Terell Stafford and Danny Tobias, alto saxophonist Vince Lardear, and trombonist Joe McDonough.

“I wanted the ensemble to be a cushion of sound around him,” Saint Clair said. He and McKenna pored over recordings together — not just jazz-and-strings sessions, but more pop-leaning fare by the likes of Henry Mancini and Percy Faith. “Everything I wrote was informed by how Larry plays, and I wanted him to be inspired by it.”

McKenna has played, over the decades, with such giants as Woody Herman, Tony Bennett, Clark Terry, and Rosemary Clooney, and is the epitome of a local legend. Until downsizing to his Jenkintown apartment three years ago, he had spent his entire life in two houses, just three blocks apart in Olney. He has mentored generations of younger players over the decades, both through private lessons and at UArts, Temple, West Chester University, and other institutions.

Always an invitingly warm and lyrical player, McKenna’s tone is beautifully showcased amidst the lush settings of World on a String. He luxuriates in the laid-back tempo of “I’ve Got the World on a String” and whispers the sentiments of “But Beautiful” with breathy tenderness over an elegant curtain of strings. His own nostalgic arrangement of “Stompin’ at the Savoy” spotlights his unhurried sense of swing.

“I’m still stunned and awed by the beauty of the project,” Monaghan said. “All I can say is, it’s about time.”

Celebrating Larry McKenna at Spring Mill ballroom, Conshohocken, Wednesday, April 5 at 7pm. Tickets at www.eventbrite.com/e/world-on-a-string-larry-mckenna-with-strings-tickets-536539523157