Track Listing

1. Estrela Estrela
2. Star Eyes
3. Handful of Stars
4. Stairway to the Stars
5. Stardust
6. Swinging on a Star
7. Lost in the Stars
8. Stars Fell on Alabama
9. Stella by Starlight
10. Star Kissed
11. Stardreams
12. Estrellita
13. Song from the Stars
14. I've Told Ev'ry Little Star
15. When You Wish Upon a Star
16. Estrela, Estrela (Reprise)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #212052 in Music
• Released on: 1993-10-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

Immaculate solo piano
Dave McKenna is one of the most consistent of pianists--his run of discs for the Concord label is of invariably high quality. Most of them are solo discs, & this is no exception; as usual with McKenna, his fondness for theme-based albums (this one, as the title indicates, includes only tunes with the word "star" in the title) works out for the best, prompting a mixture of classic chestnuts like "Lost in the Stars" & "Stella by Starlight", & little-played tunes like "Count Every Star" and "Swinging on a Star".

This is one of McKenna's gentler discs, perhaps a touch too dreamy; his hard-swinging side comes out only occasionally. But it gives the listener a good chance to hear his beautifully warm & thoughtful ballad-playing. McKenna is so unflashy that the casual listener may miss the amazing technical skill on display, in his ability to unfussily shift melody and chording between hands (& digits). His sense of swing is rock-steady, so much so that he is one of the few pianists with whom a drummer or bassist would be a distraction.

This isn't perhaps quite McKenna's finest work--I like the near-contemporaneous disc _Shadows and Dream_ a tad better, I think (sure enough, it's a collection of tunes with "shadow" and "dream" in their titles). But it still is more than worthwhile. Concord's Maybeck Recital Hall series sometimes suggests that contemporary jazz solo piano is too full of flash & complexity; McKenna's approach cuts out all the fat: it's about as close to purity as modern jazz gets.

I like, like this cd more, more than any other by D.M.
I guess i'm in the minority with this opinion, but this is by far the best cd that I have ever heard from Dave Mckenna. It is a very exciting cd. It has already become my favorite cd by Dave.

On this cd Dave plays a lot of my favorite songs. He uses great control to not mess up these songs. He does improvise a little, but not to any extreme. He gives most of the songs a nice taste.

You jazz fans out there, listen up. This cd is one that you will cherish. Please give this cd a chance.

Recommendation: Buy this cd and enjoy!