1. A Little Minor Booze
2. Theme For Autumn
3. Stompin’ At The Savoy
4. Girl Talk
5. Fragments Of A Portrait
6. Just Bones
7. Walk Softly
8. Malaga
9. The Duchess
10. Chiapas
Jay Saunders, Dennis Noday, Mike Vax, Ray Brown, Mike Snusread –
Trumpets
Dick Shearer, Mike Jamieson, Fred Carter – Trombones
Mike Wallace, Phil Herring – Bass trombones
Quin Davis – Alto sax
Richard Torres, Chris Galuman – Tenor sax
Willie Maiden, Chuck Carter – Baritone sax
Stan Kenton – Piano
John Worster – Bass
Jerry ‘Lestock’ McKenzie – Drums
Ramon Lopez – Conga, bongos
In his biography, Stan Kenton: This Is An Orchestra, the
author Michael Sparke writes that Kenton had the following view with
respect to any orchestra he led: “I wanted every arrangement to be
a production in itself. Spirit and enthusiasm had to predominate at
all times. I wanted to present swing in as elevated a manner as possible”.
There are those critics who suggest that the various Kenton orchestras
might have failed to live up to these ideals, that the arrangements
became ponderous, and the band never swung. However this iteration
of the band that was on this recording Flying High In Florida
1972 would certainly belie those criticisms.
It might also have been appropriate to call this group Stan Kenton’s Latin Band since all the arrangements are strongly influenced by the congas and bongos
of Ramon Lopez and they add a swinging depth that helps drive the band. This was in addition to drummer Jerry McKenzie who had been with the band for some
time and knew how to push the arrangements. This is evident with the first track A Little Minor Booze which establishes the base line with this
swinger showcasing solos from altoist Quin Davis and trumpeter Ray Brown (not to be confused with the bassist of the same name). Although tenor saxophonist
Bill Holman had long departed from the band, his arrangements lived on and Stompin’ At the Savoy was one of his most enduring. Brown’s trumpet and
the tenor sax of Richard Torres are featured.
Neal Hefti and Bobby Troup wrote Girl Talk for the 1965 movie Harlow
and the song was described by singer Michael Feinstein as the “last
great male chauvinistic song written in the 1960s”. Kenton’s dense
arrangement does credit to the tune in an understated swinging way.
Trombonists Mike Jamieson, Dick Shearer and Fred Carter do a number
on an infrequently played Mark Taylor original composition Just
Bones. The Latin-themed session goes into high gear with another
Bill Holman original Malaga that features trombonist Jamieson,
tenor saxophonist Richard Torres and trumpeter Dennis Noday. The recording
ends with a Hank Levy original Chiapas which takes its name
from Mexico’s most southerly region and the one in which
Graham Greene set one of his most evocative novels The Power and
the Glory. The Mexican influence courses though Levy’s commanding
arrangement. Stan Kenton was a bandleader until near the end of his
life, as he stopped touring in August 1978, and died a year later.
As an example of the “Kenton Style” with a Latin touch, this release
is as good as it gets.
Pierre Giroux
CD Reviews
Sounds Of Yester Year DSOY 934
