(Over the years a number of CDs have been issued of compil...)
Over the years a number of CDs have been issued of compilations of snippets from the large number of 'Concerts In Miniature' radio shows broadcast by Stan Kenton And His Orchestra. Here we have the twenty first of a series which attempts to cover all of these shows, complete in the original form of their presentation. On volume twenty two we feature three broadcasts, firstly from the Marine Ballroom, Steel Pier, Atlantic City NJ, August 4. 1953. Secondly from the Crescent Gardens, Revere Beach, Revere MA, August 11 1953 and lastly the Lincoln Park Ballroom, North Dartmouth MA, August 13 1953. This series is bound to be popular with lovers of Stan Kenton's music who will for the first time hear all these live shows as they were originally broadcast.
(Following up on 2016's ''Storming Through The South'', Mi...)
Following up on 2016's ''Storming Through The South'', Mike Vax and the Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra are back with ''Flyin' Through Florida''
Officially known as ''The Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra'' (by blessing of the estate of Stan Kenton), the group sounds better than ever!
The oldies include ''Artistry Jumps'', with the original arrangement; two arrangements that Dave Barduhn did back in the 1970s, ''In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning'', and ''Through the Eyes of Love''; and finally what they now call ''El Manisero, La Ultima Vez''. Wait until you hear what the rhythm section does with this piece - completely different than any recordings before. The new music is very exciting. As usual the writers have come up with a bunch of winners! Joel Kaye has given us a new arrangement of the Johnny Richards original that was recorded by Frank Sinatra ''Young at Heart'', an original called ''Psyche'', and an Al Cohn tune for the Saxophone section, ''Shazam''.
Scott Whitfield has arranged the Puccini aria ''O Mio Babbino Caro'' as a solo for Mike Vax, and Jennifer Leitham's original ''The Trashman Commeth'', as well as a great double bill so to speak, of ''How High the Moon'' and ''Ornithology'', for he and Ginger to sing. There is a wonderful arrangement of ''After You've Gone'' by Dennis Noday's good friend Lee Harris. Finally. And last but certainly not least is Charlie Ferguson's stirring arrangement of ''Someday'', a pop tune done for sure in the Kenton Style.
SAXOPHONES: Kim Richmond, Phil Hilger, Rick Condit, Joel Kaye, Tami Davidsson, Bill Prince
TROMBONES: Scott Whitfield, Dale Devoe, Dave Keim, Kenny Shroyer, Rich Bullock
TRUMPETS: Mike Vax, Dennis Noday, John Harner, Jim Oatts, Greg McLean
PIANO: Charlie Ferguson
BASS: Jennifer Leithan
DRUMS: C.E. Askew
VOCALS: Scott Whitfield,Ginger Berglund
MIKE VAX, a Kenton Alum, has devoted much of his professional life keeping the legacy of big band music, most notably that of Stan Kenton, alive and vibrant. In addition to Kenton's musical legacy, Vax has carried on the Kenton dedication to education, an area where Kenton was one of the early leaders. One result of Vax's efforts is the existence of THE STAN KENTON LEGACY ORCHESTRA, a big band that Vax has fronted through a few name changes for 25 years.
(A must have CD for all Stan Kenton fans and anybody inter...)
A must have CD for all Stan Kenton fans and anybody interested in quality jazz. These rare and previously unissued recordings of the Kenton orchestra at various times during the 1950s when it was at its peak. The CD includes vocals by two of his best singers, June Christy and Ann Richards are guests on two tracks each, two of the greatest jazz luminaries of all time, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.
(Nine Classic Stan Kenton Records On Four Discs.
A pivot...)
Nine Classic Stan Kenton Records On Four Discs.
A pivotal figure in the development of big band music during the 20th century, Stan Kenton's work opened up a whole new world of possibilities within the genre, dragging it up from its traditional roots into a thrilling form that had previously been unimaginable.
A highly skilled pianist, arranger and composer, Kenton's style brought together jazz with elements of classical and avant-garde, producing a new sound that he dubbed ''progressive jazz''.
Even within the ambitious nature of his most left-field music, Kenton remained a success during his entire lifetime, both commercially and critically, releasing as he did an eclectic array of classic albums across the tenure of his career, but with a notable pioneering spirit from the advent of progressive jazz in the late 1940s, through to his most challenging work in the early 1960s.
Without equal in so many respects, Stan Kenton remains one of the finest jazz bandleaders of all. This collection, spanning over five hours of music across four discs, provides a taste of the most pioneering music the great man was responsible for and a fraction of his enormous body of work, albeit one that illustrates well his eclectic and challenging spirit. Providing a perfect introduction to the best of this musical genius' output, the collection additionally acts as a welcome reminder to those already familiar with Kenton's esteemed catalogue.
(This is part of a mini-series on our competitively priced...)
This is part of a mini-series on our competitively priced budget label Fabulous under the banner of Jazz Legends, presenting some of great and influential names of jazz, with recordings drawn from the classic era of the genre's development between 1920 and 1950. Stan Kenton was one of the most innovative band leaders of the swing era and beyond, developing what he called ""progressive jazz"" in a concert orchestra format during a time when many big bands were failing. This collection traces the first decade of his recording career beginning with his days as a swing era pianist and his early days as a bandleader, leading through to the time when he really hit the big time in the late '40s. As such it is a fascinating journey through the evolution of his compositions, and the increasing complexity and sophistication of his orchestra's arrangements to the point around 1947 where he had developed a truly radical and challenging approach to big band music. Unlike many of the other artists in our jazz legends series, his work did not necessarily involve performing with other leading contemporaries within the genre, but his was a distinctive and single-minded strand of activity, and the collection makes for highly entertaining and enlightening listening.
Stanley Newcomb Kenton was an American composer, bandleader, educator, and pianist. He learned to play the piano and write the music while in his teens. He played and toured with various bands in the 1930s and formed his own band "Stan Kenton Orchestra" in 1940.
Background
Stanley Newcomb Kenton was born on December 15, 1911 in Wichita, Kansas, United States, the eldest child of Floyd Kenton and Stella Newcomb. During Kenton's youth, his father was variously a tombstone salesman, mechanic, carpenter, roofer, and operator of several unsuccessful businesses. When Stanley was six weeks old, the family moved from Wichita to La Jara, Colorado, and then, in 1917 to Los Angeles, California. Kenton, his two sisters, and their mother grew very close because of Floyd's instability and frequent absences from home. To augment the family's income, his mother acquired a piano and began to give lessons in the home. By 1922 the family had moved to Huntington Park, California, where Kenton spent a large amount of time by himself.
Education
Kenton's mother initially offered piano instruction to his sisters, but neither of them was interested. Stanley, however, was eager to learn the piano, but his mother's teaching technique frustrated his need to play songs by ear and approach the piano on his own terms. In the summer of 1923 the Kentons were visited by Billy and Arthur Kenton, cousins from Portland, Oregon, and Kenton was excited by the music they played, which was influenced by the new "hot" jazz. His mother had abandoned attempts to teach him, and he moved from teacher to teacher. In 1924 the family moved to Bell, California, where Kenton began taking lessons from Frank Hurst, an organist at a Los Angeles theater.
By the end of six months, he had begun to make significant progress because of his all-consuming interest in music. After he heard a jazz band perform at one of the beaches near Los Angeles, he began to practice five to ten hours per day. Kenton himself recalled that "from the time I was fourteen years old, I was all music. Nothing else even entered my mind. " Kenton's abilities as a musician led to his election as president of his high school student body in 1928; he also organized groups to play at school and outside functions.
Kenton continued his studies with Hurst and by the time he was fifteen had begun to write jazz arrangements. In 1928 he sold his first arrangement (of Drigo's Serenade) to a Long Beach group. Hurst had encouraged Stan to listen to the important jazz performers of the day--Benny Carter, Louis Armstrong, and Earl ("Fatha") Hines--and Kenton's writing style was especially influenced by Carter. As Kenton improved as a player and writer, Hurst encouraged him to seek a new teacher, whom Kenton found in Tony Arreta, an important Hollywood and vaudeville music writer. Kenton's studies with Arreta made him aware of the possibilities of arranging and the use of orchestral color and gave him a better understanding of the use of instruments and their timbre. He graduated from high school in 1930.
Career
About 1930 Kenton received an offer from Al Sandstrom to work with Art and Jack Flack's six-piece combo in a San Diego café (actually a speakeasy). The band also played for vaudeville acts and various other entertainers. Kenton returned home within six weeks and found work with area musicians that led to an engagement in Las Vegas, Nevada, a stepping-stone for more important professional engagements. He joined the American Jazz Band, a six-piece band led by Frank Gilbert, doubling on piano and banjo and as one of the featured vocalists. He left the Gilbert band after a year and a half and performed with bands throughout the West.
Kenton's first professional break came in 1933, as pianist and arranger for Everett Hoagland's ensemble, which was idolized by many young Californians for its new, advanced form of jazz performances. He next worked as an assistant music director for Earl Carroll's Theater Restaurant and as an arranger for Russ Plummer (1935 - 1936), Gus Arnheim (1936 - 1937), and for various movies and radio stations.
In 1937, Kenton decided to give up performing and arranging to devote himself to serious study of composition, theory, harmony, and conducting. As his teacher he chose Charles Dalmores, a prominent composer, conductor, and classical musician in Los Angeles. After a year of study, Kenton returned to theater work, composing, and working with bands in the area but dissatisfied with these playing experiences. In 1939 and 1940 he planned the formation of his own group. He continued to write "experimental" arrangements but did not record during this period. He felt that his arrangements were musically sound but lacked a unique style. He had considerable experience as a player and as an arranger, but his knowledge of conducting was academic. He then tried to build a repertoire of original compositions and arrangements as a basis for a rehearsal band (an experimental orchestra).
The Kenton rented a cabin in the mountains near Idyllwild, California, where he worked on his music, then he moved back to Los Angeles, where he organized a thirteen-piece rehearsal band. He was able to arrange a performance at the Pavilion, a ballroom in Huntington Beach, in January 1941, which was followed by performances at ballrooms in Los Angeles. The group's enthusiastic reception led to a booking in the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach, California, for the summer of 1941.
The group, first known as the Stan Kenton Orchestra, developed a steady and dedicated following and its big-band sound began to receive wide acclaim throughout the area. Maurice Cohen, owner of the Hollywood Palladium, which had opened in the fall of 1940 and where only the top name bands appeared, hired the band, and it opened on November 25, 1941. Thanks largely to the loyal fans from the Rendezvous, the band drew record-breaking crowds. The Artistry in Rhythm Orchestra, as the group was called beginning in 1943, was innovative in a number of ways. Kenton had absorbed the teachings of Dalmores and had studied the writings and the playing of the traditional jazz masters (Hines, Carter, Armstrong, and Duke Ellington), as well as the music of George Gershwin. He combined these influences to create a modern big band sound. The orchestra began its first nationwide tour in January 1942 and concluded with a weeklong performance at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.
In 1943, Kenton was hired for Bob Hope's coast-to-coast radio show. After completing thirty-nine weeks with Hope, he left to undertake a second nationwide tour. By 1946 the enlarged Artistry in Rhythm Orchestra (eighteen pieces) had become the country's most popular big band. It was chosen Band of the Year by Look magazine, and its members won more than 60 percent of the votes in polls taken by Down Beat, Metronome, and Variety. By 1947 the band had grown to twenty pieces and was known as the Stan Kenton Progressive Jazz Orchestra. In the spring of that year, tickets for its concert schedule in New York City sold out within twenty-four hours. The group was again voted the number-one band in the Down Beat poll. In June 1948 more than 15, 000 fans attended a Progressive Jazz Orchestra concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Although the 1950's was a period of decline for most big bands, Kenton and his band continued to attract large audiences, primarily because of the popularity of its recordings.
Kenton had begun his recording career with Decca Records in 1941 and switched to Capitol Records in 1943. His continued search for the appropriate combination of jazz and classical music resulted in the forty-three piece Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra, with strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. This orchestra made two nationwide tours in 1950 and 1951 and was hailed by the New York Times as "the first successful attempt to bridge the gap between classical and jazz music. " Even though the response to this group was positive, it was difficult to keep such a large ensemble on the road. Kenton was approached by Capitol to produce a series of recordings introducing new artists and for the band to serve as the backup orchestra, which kept them in the public eye.
In the 1950's and 1960's, Kenton turned his attention to jazz education. He established the first of his jazz clinics for teenage musicians at Indiana and Michigan State universities in 1959, followed by another at Redlands University in California in 1966. He also founded the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra in 1965 and the highly successful Modern Music Tour in 1966, of which Time said, "Kenton's orchestra has created the most original sound in music. "
In the 1960's and 1970's, Kenton's initial experiment with Afro-Cuban music, as seen in his Cuban Fire and Viva Kenton albums of 1958, was furthered with the addition of a Latin percussionist to his orchestra. He also enlarged the orchestra by experimenting with strings and an expanded brass section. Influences of jazz fusion, as well as the more traditional swing and bop, appeared in his music and his musicians of this period.
Achievements
Kenton occupies an ambiguous position in the history of jazz and American music. His public success was offset by condemnation by the jazz establishment, and his considerable talents as an arranger and pianist were overshadowed by those of superior sidemen and staff arrangers whom he attracted to his organization. Works by Pete Rugolo, Shorty Rogers, Gerry Mulligan, Neal Hefti, Bill Russo, Johnny Richards, and others enhanced Kenton's reputation as a jazz arranger. The exciting jazz soloists and vocalists who performed with Kenton's groups included Anita O'Day, June Christy, Lee Konitz, Art Pepper, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Pepper Adams, Maynard Ferguson, Kai Winding, Laurindo Almeida, and Shelly Manne. Kenton's commitment to perpetuating jazz performance through education was instrumental in the founding of the National (now International) Association of Jazz Educators. He was partly responsible for the appearance of big bands in public school education and a revival of interest in music written in that tradition.
The albums Kenton's West Side Story (arrangements by Johnny Richards) and Adventures In Jazz, each won Grammy awards in 1962 and 1963 respectively.
Kenton married Violet Peters in July 1935. They had one child. After his divorce from Violet, he married Ann Richards, who had sung with the band, on October 18, 1955; they had two children. Because of his daughter's inability to accept Richards, this marriage also ended in divorce.
In July 1967, Kenton married Jo Ann Hill; they had no children and were divorced. He spent his last years in the company of his longtime companion and manager, Audree Coke, who indicated that the two were married in Mexico a few years before Kenton's death.
