by Scott YanowOne of the top swing-based pianists of the past 25 years, Dave McKennas hard-driving bass lines give momentum to uptempo pieces and his vast knowledge of superior songs from the 1930s has resulted in many rewarding albums of traditional but fresh music. Although talented from the start, McKenna did not achieve that much recognition until he was already in his 40s. He joined the Musicians Union when he was 15 and picked up early experience playing with Boots Mussulli (1947), Charlie Ventura (1949) and Woody Hermans Orchestra (1950-51). After two years in the military, McKenna had a second stint with Ventura (1953-54) and then worked with a variety of top swing and Dixieland players including Gene Krupa, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Eddie Condon, Bobby Hackett and Bob Wilber (in the late 70s) and was a soloist at piano bars in Massachusetts. McKenna had recorded for ABC-Paramount (1956), Epic (1958), Bethlehem (a two-pia...