CD1
1. Artistry In Rhythm
2. Come Back To Sorrento
3. Fantasy
4. Opus In Pastels
5. Artistry In Percussion
6. Ain’t No Misery In Me
7. Safranski
8. Willow Weep For Me
9. Artistry In Bolero
10. And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine
11. Peg O’ My Heart
12. Tampico
13. Capitol Punishment
14. He’s Funny That Way
15. Shoo Fly Pie And Apple Pan Dowdy
16. Somnambulism
17. Abstraction
18. Chorale For Brass, Piano And Bongo
19. Bongo Riff
20. The Spider And The Fly
21. September Song
22. Jump For Joe
23. Laura
24. Spring Is Here
25. I’m Glad There Is You
26. Opus In Turquoise
CD2
1. Artistry Jumps
2. Interlude
3. Intermission Riff
4. Minor Riff
5. Collaboration
6. Painted Rhythm
7. Southern Scandal
8. The Peanut Vendor
9. Eager Beaver
10. Concerto To End All Concertos
11. Artistry In Boogie
12. Lover
13. Unison Riff
14. Fuego Cubano (Cuban Fire)
15. El Congo Valiente (Valiant Congo)
16. Recuerdos (Reminiscences)
17. Quien Sabe (Who Knows)
18. La Guera Baila (The Fair One Dances)
19. La Suerte De Los Tontos (Fortune Of Fools)
20. Tres Corazones (Three Hearts)
Stan
Kenton always seemed to be slightly outside
the mainstream of jazz. He was a big-band
leader who went his own way. He was certainly
talented – having played the piano and written
arrangements for various bands before he formed
his own ensemble in 1941. Yet his ambitious
projects sometimes appeared excessive, and
some critics condemned his ideas of "progressive
jazz" as pretentious. On the plus side,
his arrangements were innovative, as were
those of the arrangers he employed – notably
Pete Rugolo, Bill Russo and Johnny Richards.
And his band fostered the careers of many
notable artists, among them Frank Rosolino,
Eddie Safranski, Maynard Ferguson, Shelly
Manne, June Christy, Art Pepper, Shorty Rogers
and Bob Cooper.
This
double album provides a useful cross-section
of some of Kenton’s work, at a bargain price
around £7. The first CD contains a variety
of material from 1943 to 1956; the second
CD comprises two LPs from 1956: Kenton
in Hi-Fi and Cuban Fire!
The
collection opens with Artistry in Rhythm,
one of his first recordings for Capitol, which
made a definite impact when it was released
in 1943, introducing listeners to Kenton’s
unique mixture of near-symphonic seriousness
with hard-driving jazz played with impeccable
precision. Other tracks exemplify this dichotomy,
with some sounding like miniature piano concertos
(allowing Kenton to rhapsodise at the piano)
and others more closely resembling the big-band
styles that listeners were used to. Kenton’s
arranging expertise is evident on Opus
in Pastels, with its saxophone choir,
while tracks like Artistry in Percussion
and Safranski show off the talents
of Kenton’s sidemen (on these particular tracks,
Shelly Manne and Eddie Safranski).
The
band was not above pleasing the crowds with
popular sides like Tampico and Shoo
Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy, both featuring
singer June Christy, who was one of the many
artists whose careers were launched or consolidated
by the Kenton band. Some of Kenton’s most
popular tunes are found on the second CD,
which reworks some of his earlier successes.
Numbers like Intermission Riff and
Eager Beaver are immediately likeable,
while The Peanut Vendor shows the
band at its best: dynamic, swinging and daringly
arranged.
The
last seven tracks on this CD comprise the
Cuban Fire! suite, composed and arranged
by Johnny Richards. It is performed by a massive
27-piece band, including seven percussionists,
and is simultaneously exciting and overblown,
in the way that many of Kenton’s later recordings
were. Stan didn’t always know the meaning
of the word "restraint" but the
results were often memorable. And he employed
many fine musicians who went on to become
even more famous.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Avid
AMSC 912
