Stan Kenton

Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator.

Origins

Stan Kenton was born in Wichita, Kansas, and raised first in Colorado and then in California. He learned piano as a child, and while still a teenager toured with various bands. He attended Bell High School, in Bell, California, where he graduated in 1930. In June 1941 he formed his own band, which developed into one of the best-known West Coast ensembles of the Forties. In the Mid 40's Kentons' Band and style became known as "The Wall of Sound", a tag later used by Phil Spector.

Music

Kenton's musical aggregations were decidedly "orchestras." Sometimes consisting of two dozen or more musicians at once, they produced an unmistakable Kenton sound--as recognizable as that of the bands of Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, or Count Basie. So large an orchestra was able to produce a tremendous, at times overpowering, volume in the dance and concert halls of the land; among musical conservatives it developed a reputation for playing strange-sounding pieces much too loudly, and indeed one comical MC introduced Stan Kenton as "Cant Standit."

A Kenton specialty was Afro-Cuban rhythm, as exported to North America by such bandleaders as Machito (whose brass and reed sound, in turn, began to show the influence of Kenton). Translated into the Kenton idiom, however, the Latin rhythms might be scored for a full panoply of percussion instruments: tympani, bongos, conga, timbales, claves, and maracas. This component of Kenton's work may be heard on the 1947 recording "Machito" and on the album Cuban Fire, still in print after more than fifty years of ceaseless change in popular music.

Many of Kenton's band arrangements were written by Kenton himself, as well as other composers and arrangers such as Gene Roland, Pete Rugolo, W. A. Mathieu, Johnny Richards, Lennie Niehaus, Gerry Mulligan, Hank Levy, Bill Russo, Dee Barton, Bill Holman, Shorty Rogers, Ken Hanna, and Bob Graettinger (ref. his formidable but fascinating "City of Glass"). The music, which could be intensely dissonant, made use of powerful brass sections and unconventional saxophone voicings that showed Kenton's love of experimenting, reflected in the names he gave his ensembles: "Innovations Orchestra," "Neophonic Orchestra," and "Mellophonium Orchestra." Kenton's theme song from the early days to the last was called, significantly, "Artistry in Rhythm." It was owing in part to Kenton's ambitious musical nomenclature that many critics dismissed his work as mannered and pretentious. But apart from recording a few dance-band albums (Kenton's men could play standards beautifully), he avoided compromising his idea of jazz to please either critics or public.

Career

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.

Controversy

Critics of Kenton have not limited their attacks to his music only. In 1956, when the band returned from its European trip, the Critics Poll in Down Beat reflected victories by African-American musicians in virtually every category. The Kenton band was playing in Ontario, Canada, at the time, and Stan dispatched a telegram which lamented "a new minority, white jazz musicians," and stated Kenton's "complete and total disgust [with the] literary geniuses of jazz." Jazz critic leonard Feather, alone of all the critics, responded in the October 3, 1956, issue with open letter which questioned Kenton's racial views and disparagement of African-American leaders like Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. Feather inferred that Kenton's failure to win the Critics Poll was the major reason for the complaint; that his long-standing prejudice for many years had now come to the surface; that Kenton had not hired enough African-American musicians over the years.

Other writers have disagreed. Nearly three years before this, in the December 16, 1953, issue of Down Beat, critic Nat Hentoff had written that ". . . Stan is as free from prejudice of any kind as any man I know." However, the fact remains that although African-American jazz stars appeared with the Kenton Orchestra from time to time as featured soloists, very few black musicians ever played in his band.

Later years

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.

Noted band personnel

Noted band personnel included

Laurindo Almeida,

Skip Layton,
Stan Levey,

Bart Varsalona,
Mike Vax,

Kai Winding

Famed vocalists Anita O'Day, June Christy, and Chris Connor were featured with the Kenton orchestra. Kenton discovered The Four Freshmen performing in a small club in Dayton, Ohio, and gave them a huge boost.

Latter years

In his latter years, the genial and charismatic Kenton expended much energy encouraging big band music and what he called "progressive jazz" in schools and colleges throughout the country. His entire library was donated to the University of North Texas in Denton. He was a salient figure on the American musical scene and made an indelible mark on the arranged type of big band jazz. Kenton's music evolved with the times throughout the 1960s and 70s, although he was no longer one of the great innovators. His final performance was in August 1978, a year before he died. He lived to see his son Lance, a key member of the Synanon drug rehabilitation cult, condemned to prison for assault and conspiracy after placing a rattlesnake in a lawyer's mailbox; what he missed, however, was the later critical "rediscovery" of his music, with many reissues of his recordings.

Stan Kenton died on August 25, 1979, after suffering a stroke a week earlier. He was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, Los Angeles.

Selected discography

Most of Kenton's early work (1941-1950) was pressed onto singles or 78s, and has been collected in a variety of compilations. This discography lists recordings that were intended for album-length distribution, rather than collections of singles.

A Presentation of Progressive Jazz (1947)
City of Glass (1951)
New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm (1952)
Portraits on Standards (1953)
Kenton Showcase: The Music of Bill Holman and Bill Russo (1954)
Contemporary Concepts (1955)
Kenton in Hi-Fi (1956)
Cuban Fire! (1956)
Back to Balboa (1958)
Lush Interlude (1958)
The Stage Door Swings (1958)
Viva Kenton! (1959)
Road Show (1959)
At the Las Vegas Tropicana (1959)
Standards in Silhouette (1959)
The Sophisticated Approach (1961)
The Romantic Approach (1961)
A Merry Christmas (1961)
West Side Story (1961)
Adventures in Blues (1961)
Adventures in Jazz (1961)
Adventures in Standards (1961)
Adventures in Time (1962)
Stan Kenton - Tex Ritter (1962)
Artistry in Bossa Nova (1963)
Artistry in Voices and Brass (1963)
Kenton/Wagner (1964)
The Jazz Compositions of Dee Barton (1967)
Hair (1968)
Finian's Rainbow (1968)
Live at Redlands University (1970)
Live at Brigham Young (1971)
Live at Butler University (1973)
Birthday in Britain (1973)
7.5 on the Richter Scale (1973)
Kenton Plays Chicago (1974)
Fire, Fury and Fun (1974)
Kenton '76 (1976)
Live in Europe (1976)
Journey into Capricorn (1976)

External Links

Bell High School Alumni Page for Stan Kenton