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| 3.425 Ft
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| 1. | Artistry in Progressive Jazz
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| 2. | Artistry In Boogie
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| 3. | Reed Rapture
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| 4. | Lover Man
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| 5. | Scotch and Water
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| 6. | Concerto to End All Concertos, Pt. 1
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| 7. | Concerto to End All Concertos, Pt. 2
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| 8. | Opus In Pastels
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| 9. | Rhythm Incorporated, Pt. 1
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| 10. | Rhythm Incorporated, Pt. 2
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| 11. | Across the Alley from the Alamo
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| 12. | Collaboration
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| 13. | Minor Riff
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| 14. | Machito
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| 15. | Lover
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| 16. | Unison Riff
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| 17. | Lament
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| 18. | I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out
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| 19. | Cuban Carnival
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| 20. | The Peanut Vendor
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| 21. | Metronome Riff
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| 22. | How High the Moon
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| 23. | Interlude
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Jazz / Big Band, Swing, Progressive Jazz, Traditional Pop
Joost Visser Producer, Compilation, Liner Notes
While many radio broadcasts from the big-band era are redundant exercises in nostalgia, this one -- a compilation from three different locales -- is defiantly, pungently out of that class. It covers a period where Kenton's ensembles were stretching the boundaries of where big bands were allowed to go, beginning in 1946 at the Meadowbrook Gardens in Culver City, CA. The set then skips to the Hotel Commodore in New York City circa fall 1947, when Kenton became the first major jazz bandleader to jump headfirst into Afro-Cuban rhythms (weeks ahead of Dizzy Gillespie), and concludes with excerpts from the first ever televised jazz concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 1948. Most of the tracks reflect the forward-thrusting side of the Kenton band, just beginning to experiment with dissonance, Afro-Cuban influences, and concert works not meant to be danced to. There is a rare live recording of "Abstraction," which formed Part III of the Kenton-Rugolo extended work "Prologue Suite" (not to be confused with the later Prologue: This Is An Orchestra): a fascinating, dissonant, march-like work with a distinct Latin touch and a revolving bass ostinato anchoring the whole thing (alas, the acetate cuts off before it ends). You also hear the original uncut conception of the famous, rocking chart of "The Peanut Vendor," which here begins with an Art Pepper feature and then moves on to the familiar Milt Bernhart trombone intro on the record. The sound is serviceable, sometimes surprisingly good: the performances often startling. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
Stan Kenton
Active Decades: '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s
Born: Dec 15, 1911 in Wichita, KS
Died: Aug 25, 1979 in Los Angeles, CA
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Big Band, Progressive Jazz, Traditional Pop
There have been few jazz musicians as consistently controversial as Stan Kenton. Dismissed by purists of various genres while loved by many others, Kenton ranks up there with Chet Baker and Sun Ra as jazz's top cult figure. He led a succession of highly original bands that often emphasized emotion, power, and advanced harmonies over swing, and this upset listeners who felt that all big bands should aim to sound like Count Basie. Kenton always had a different vision.
Kenton played in the 1930s in the dance bands of Vido Musso and Gus Arnheim, but he was born to be a leader. In 1941 he formed his first orchestra, which later was named after his theme song "Artistry in Rhythm." A decent Earl Hines-influenced pianist, Kenton was much more important in the early days as an arranger and inspiration for his loyal sidemen. Although there were no major names in his first band (bassist Howard Rumsey and trumpeter Chico Alvarez come the closest), Kenton spent the summer of 1941 playing regularly before a very appreciative audience at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach, CA. Influenced by Jimmie Lunceford (who, like Kenton, enjoyed high-note trumpeters and thick-toned tenors), the Stan Kenton Orchestra struggled a bit after its initial success. Its Decca recordings were not big sellers and a stint as Bob Hope's backup radio band was an unhappy experience; Les Brown permanently took Kenton's place.
By late 1943 with a Capitol contract, a popular record in "Eager Beaver," and growing recognition, the Stan Kenton Orchestra was gradually catching on. Its soloists during the war years included Art Pepper, briefly Stan Getz, altoist Boots Mussulli, and singer Anita O'Day. By 1945 the band had evolved quite a bit. Pete Rugolo became the chief arranger (extending Kenton's ideas), Bob Cooper and Vido Musso offered very different tenor styles, and June Christy was Kenton's new singer; her popular hits (including "Tampico" and "Across the Alley From the Alamo") made it possible for Kenton to finance his more ambitious projects. Calling his music "progressive jazz," Kenton sought to lead a concert orchestra as opposed to a dance band at a time when most big bands were starting to break up. By 1947 Kai Winding was greatly influencing the sound of Kenton's trombonists, the trumpet section included such screamers as Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, and Al Porcino, Jack Costanzo's bongos were bringing Latin rhythms into Kenton's sound, and a riotous version of "The Peanut Vendor" contrasted with the somber "Elegy for Alto." Kenton had succeeded in forming a radical and very original band that gained its own audience.
In 1949 Kenton took a year off. In 1950 he put together his most advanced band, the 39-piece Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra that included 16 strings, a woodwind section, and two French horns. Its music ranged from the unique and very dense modern classical charts of Bob Graettinger to works that somehow swung despite the weight. Such major players as Maynard Ferguson (whose high-note acrobatics set new standards), Shorty Rogers, Milt Bernhart, John Graas, Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Laurindo Almeida, Shelly Manne, and June Christy were part of this remarkable project, but from a commercial standpoint, it was really impossible. Kenton managed two tours during 1950-1951 but soon reverted to his usual 19-piece lineup. Then quite unexpectedly, Kenton went through a swinging period. The charts of such arrangers as Shorty Rogers, Gerry Mulligan, Lennie Niehaus, Marty Paich, Johnny Richards, and particularly Bill Holman and Bill Russo began to dominate the repertoire. Such talented players (in addition to the ones already named) as Lee Konitz, Conte Candoli, Sal Salvador, Stan Levey, Frank Rosolino, Richie Kamuca, Zoot Sims, Sam Noto, Bill Perkins, Charlie Mariano, Mel Lewis, Pete Candoli, Lucky Thompson, Carl Fontana, Pepper Adams, and Jack Sheldon made strong contributions. The music was never predictable and could get quite bombastic, but it managed to swing while still keeping the Kenton sound.
Kenton's last successful experiment was his mellophonium band of 1960-1963. Despite the difficulties in keeping the four mellophoniums (which formed their own separate section) in tune, this particular Kenton orchestra had its exciting moments. However from 1963 on, the flavor of the Kenton big band began to change. Rather than using talented soloists, Kenton emphasized relatively inexpensive youth at the cost of originality. While the arrangements (including those of Hank Levy) continued to be quite challenging, after Gabe Baltazar's "graduation" in 1965, there were few new important Kenton alumni (other than Peter Erskine and Tim Hagans). For many of the young players, touring with Kenton would be the high point of their careers rather than just an important early step. Kenton Plays Wagner (1964) was an important project, but by then the bandleader's attention was on jazz education. By conducting a countless number of clinics and making his charts available to college and high-school stage bands, Kenton insured that there would be many bands that sounded like his, and the inverse result was that his own young orchestra sounded like a professional college band! Kenton continued leading and touring with his big band up until his death in 1979.
Kenton recorded for Capitol for 25 years (1943-1968) and in the 1970s formed his Creative World label to reissue most of his Capitol output and record his current band. In recent times Capitol has begun reissuing Kenton's legacy on CD and there have been two impressive Mosaic box sets.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
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