IN FULL SWING . . . JEAN McKENNA O'DONNELL

This morning’s tide of emails brought home all the usual flotsam and jetsam—notices of new releases on Amazon.com and on iTunes, various barely resistible offers for health products, the daily overtures from Nigerian scam artists addressing me as “Beloved one,” a reminder from my University bookstore that I had not yet placed by book order for the Fall semester. . . . But one message floated to the top of all those—news of an event that I’m going to try to squeeze onto the calendar for July 18th: a concert at Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth, RI featuring jazz vocalist Jean McKenna O’Donnell. The concert is scheduled for 1:00-4:00 p.m. and admission is free. The event also features wine tastings.

I first met Jean about 7 years ago and at the time she was a long-retired jazz chanteuse. Prodded by her proud husband, she confessed that “in her day” she could hold her own with a big band swinging behind her. I think that in the course of our chat it emerged that she has fine musical bloodlines—her brother is the legendary jazz pianist Dave McKenna (now departed). So fast-forward about 5 years to the first time I actually heard Jean sing . . . at a concert in Woonsocket, RI memorializing her late brother. That was in December of 2008. The concert itself was warm and poignant as it featured a number of New England jazz musicians who played with Dave McKenna during his lengthy career. But the concert also served notice that Jean was back on the scene! She had just released a CD—appropriately titled Full Circle, as indeed she had come full circle, returning to the bandstand quite a long while after first making a name for herself. It was great to see her performing in the tribute to her brother . . .

And so this morning when I got that email, I immediately spun the dial on my iPod and summoned up Full Circle for a good listen. Comprising mostly tunes from the Great American Songbook—“You Stepped Out of a Dream,” “Taking a Chance on Love,” “I’m Old Fashioned,” “I’ve Got a Crush on You”—it’s an altogether pleasing compilation. Supported by Mike Renzi on piano, Dick Johnson on alto sax and clarinet, Marshall Wood on bass, and Jon Wheatley on guitar, Jean is in fine company and in fine vocal form. The CD is a real treat!

No doubt Jean will be singing some of those gems on July 18th at Greenvale Vineyards, which is located on the Sakonnet River just five miles north of downtown Newport, RI. For more details, contact Greenvale Vineyards (582 Wapping Rd., Portsmouth, RI) at (401) 847-3777.