STAN KENTON

Candid Recording(s):

One Night Stand - Live at the Hollywood Palladium (CHCD 71051)

 

 

 

Biography:

Stanley Newcombe Kenton was born in Wichita, Kansas on the 19th February 1912.  He was raised in Los Angeles and after playing with various local bands he joined Everett Hoagland in 1934 as pianist and arranger.  Later Kenton spent a year with Gus Arnheim and played in the bands of Vido Musso and Johnny Davis.  Stan led his own band at Balboa beach in 1941 and recorded for Decca in that year and again in 1942.  The original band included Chico Alvarez, trumpet; Red Dorris, tenor sax and vocals; Bob Gioga, baritone sax and Howard Rumsey, bass with arrangements by Ralph Yaw and himself.

After the release of ‘Artistry in Rhythm’ (the band’s theme) on its first Capitol session in November 1943, the band began to acquire a national reputation.  The orchestral trademark in these early years was a staccato reed section; in the mid forties most of the records were vocals, featuring Anita O’Day and June Christy.

In 1946, when Pete Rugolo joined as arranger, Kenton began to do far less of the writing.  After the band’s dissolution in April the next year, Kenton fronted bands on a less permanent basis, spending most of 1949 in retirement.  In January 1950 he took out a 40 piece orchestra with strings on tour, calling the unit ‘Improvisations in Modern Music.’

The value of Kenton’s music varied greatly according to the arrangers he used.  The music fell generally into three categories; First, the ambitious concert works, such as those of Bob Graettinger, many of which qualify as modern classical writing, but not as jazz.  Second, the simple, short pieces, some of them with vocals, that attempted to broaden the band’s commercial appeal, and did not pretend to be of any significant (All About Ronnie, The Creep, September Song).  Third and most importantly the swinging arrangements by Shorty Rogers, Gerry Mulligan, Bill Holman which placed the orchestra on the same plane as that of Woody Herman, featuring numerous improvised solos.  It is on this third level that Kenton, in the opinion of the critics, made his most valid contribution to jazz.

Stan’s band served as a workshop and incubator for many writers and soloists who achieved their first major exposure through him; moreover Kenton’s own strong personality as a spokesman for modern jazz lent added significance to his efforts.

Stan Kenton died on the 25th August 1979.