Mckenna Reeve (she/her) is a versatile drummer, award-winning composer, and accomplished educator based in the Denver metro area. Reeve comes from a jazz background yet “plays nicely” with collaborators from a wide variety of musical backgrounds on a wide variety of instruments. She has toured the US as a sideman playing jazz and funk, and from 2024 to 2026 served as the principal percussionist for the Los Angeles Brass Alliance. She can be heard on Julie Koenig’s releases “The Intruder” (2024) and “Renaissance Woman” (2021), Benjamin Boone’s “Caught in the Rhythm” (2023), No Hands Brass Band’s “Off the Curb” (2021), her own releases “Live from Greeley” (2024), and “Lavender Skies, Golden Plains” (2022), and live with a variety of artists and bands in Colorado and occasionally California.

Reeve’s original compositions for big band and studio orchestra have been performed by all three of the University of Northern Colorado’s Lab Bands as well as their Jazz Festival All-Star Band. In recent years she has been commissioned by Denver’s Mile High Freedom Bands, LA’s Gay Freedom Band, and the Los Angeles Brass Alliance for large ensemble pieces ranging from big band and concert band to large brass ensemble. In 2023 her composition “Another Food Blues” was one of two winners in the inaugural University of Nebraska Omaha Women in Jazz Composer Award, and the piece is now available for purchase via eJazzLines. Her original works span from small group jazz to concert band, studio orchestra, big band, and percussion ensemble with an emphasis on compositions meant for educational level ensembles.

Originally from California's Central Valley, Reeve grew up surrounded by kind and passionate music educators and performers whose mentorship shaped her musical growth. Fresno's tight-knit community gave her a passion for educating others, and she teaches students and educators throughout the country. While living in Los Angeles she served as the Assistant Director for the Gay Freedom Bands of LA’s Jazz Band and coached award winning percussion sections at several area middle and high schools. Reeve has appeared as a clinician at the Fresno City College Jazz Festival, a guest conductor at the 2023 Pride Bands of America National Conference, a presenter at the 2024 California All-State Music Educators Conference, and as a teacher at multiple Central California summer camps for many years. She maintains a private studio of wonderful drum set and percussion students, of whom she is very proud.

Reeve received her B.M. in Jazz Studies and M.M. in Jazz Composition at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. When she’s not playing, writing, or teaching, she can often be found cooking, reading, or lifting heavy—always with a cup of coffee in hand.