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Scott McLennan
A.J. Juarez

After graduating from the University of Rochester in 1986 with a degree in English, Scott McLennan returned to his native Massachusetts and hit the pavement looking for a newspaper job. The Beacon chain hired McLennan to cover the towns of Bolton and Stow for one of its weeklies. The Marlboro Enterprise-Hudson Daily Sun daily then hired McLennan as a general assignment reporter in early 1987.
 
An inveterate music fan, McLennan wrote music features for the daily newspaper, including stories about Frank Zappa¹s final tour and the Newport Jazz Festival. Hired by the Fitchburg Sentinel and Enterprise in 1988, McLennan continued to contribute music features and reviews alongside his regular responsibilities of covering hard news.
 
In 1990, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette hired McLennan to be the inaugural editor of the Montachusett T&G, a twice-weekly news and features section for newspaper¹s North Worcester County readership. During his three-year stint with the Monty T&G, McLennan contributed concert and record reviews to the daily Telegram¹s arts section. A review of a Van Halen concert at the Worcester Centrum was McLennan¹s first music story published by the T&G.
 
In 1993, the T&G promoted McLennan to Entertainment Columnist which he turned primarily into a music column. For the next 15 years, McLennan covered the work by area musicians as well performances by artists visiting Central Mass.  His work cut across all genres of music except for classical, a subject he is still fairly ignorant about.
 
While at the T&G, McLennan interviewed Dave Brubeck, Sonny Rollins, Mose Allison, Stephane Grappelli, Christian McBride, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, B.B. King, and many more internationally known musicians as well as prepared stories about the region¹s leading jazz artists such as Emil Haddad and Dick Odgren, Reggie Walley, Jim Porcella, Jerry Sabatini, and Rich Falco. McLennan also reviewed several jazz performances and festivals throughout New England while at the T&G.
 
In 2008, McLennan left the T&G and began contributing music stories and reviews to the Boston Globe. His jazz coverage has included reports from the Newport Jazz Festival and reviews of Medeski, Martin and Wood and the Bela Fleck and Marcus Roberts band.