Stan Kenton: Artistry in Rhythm

Stan Kenton (1912-1979)
William P. Gottleib Photo (circa 1948)

Stan Kenton (1948) - William P. Gottlieb/Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Fund Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress.

Stan Kenton was one of my favorite big band leaders. The last time I saw him was in early 1979 at a music educators conference at the American Congress Hotel -- now the Congress Plaza Hotel -- in Chicago. Stan was sitting alone at a folding table with a few albums on his Creative World label and some articles on display. He was perspiring profusely, looking terribly warm and uncomortable.

I had the impression that not many people recognized him. But I sure did.

"Hi, Stan!" I said. "We met at the Lighthouse in 1959, and I've heard you a number of times here in Chicago in recent years." I introduced myself, knowing there was no way he would remember me from our previous meetings, always brief. I was simply a face in the crowd.

Stan stood up, shook my hand, and invited me to sit with him.

"Maybe I'm wasting my time coming to these things anymore," he eventually confided. "But I hope some teachers will recognize me and maybe ask a few questions. If I can help or even inspire them, then it is worthwhile."

We talked for awhile. His band was still working hard, and his records continued to sell via his Creative World label. "We're not making a lot of money selling records," he admitted, "but at least those who like our music can still buy them and listen to our music." (In 1979, many record stores carried few, if any, jazz or big band albums. Remember, this was before megastores such as Virgin and Tower -- and long before the Internet. I was lucky to have Rose Records in Chicago.)

A couple of teachers came by wanting to talk with Stan. We shook hands again and I went on my way. It was the last time I ever saw him....

I became familiar with Stan Kenton when I was only a boy in the mid-1940's. "Across the Alley from the Alamo" "Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy," and "Tampico" featuring June Christy were three of my favorite songs.

In my high school years (1954-1958), I added a number of Kenton LP's to my collection. His music, like Duke Ellington's, was always changing. I liked both bands. I saw both of them at the Blue Note in the Chicago Loop several times in the the late 1950's.

In the fall of 1959, when I was in my sophomore year at the University of California at Santa Barbara, I heard the Kenton band when they performed for a Friday night dance at the Cabrillo Recreation Center in downtown Santa Barbara. I enjoyed hearing his great band and was glad to see so many people turned out and danced to it. Their dance book was a lot different than their concert book, but both were all Kenton.

In the spring of 1960, I drove down one night to Howard Rumsey's famous jazz club, "The Lighthouse," in Redondo Beach to hear Stan Kenton and His Orchestra. It was a narrow club along the boardwalk that runs along the oceanfront from Manhattan Beach through Hermosa Beach and Redono Beach. During an intermission, I saw Kenton sitting at the bar and walked over to introduce myself. He couldn't have been more cordial.

After I returned to my home in Chicago in 1960, I heard the Kenton band several times over the years.

In the early 1970's, Kenton and his band performed at least once each summer at the First National Bank Plaza, a free concert at noon or after work. All the big bands working in those years performed at the Plaza, always drawing huge crowds.

The last time I heard Kenton was when I took my mother to hear him at Drury Lane Theater at Water Tower Place in 1978. At the beginning of the second set, Kenton acknowledged that Donald O'Connor was in the audience. He stood and took a bow. Everyone got a kick out of seeing him. My mother and I really enjoyed that evening. We had a great time!

Sadly, Kenton died the following year on August 25th. New York Times Jazz Critic John S. Wilson's obituary is online. He reviews the highpoints of Kenton's amazing career.

Vern McCarthy, a friend of mine in Chicago and Kenton aficionado, probably heard Stan Kenton and His Orchestra more than anyone on the planet. Vern often flew to wherever Kenton was playing. Vern and I served as board members of the Jazz Institute of Chicago in the 1970's and 1980's. Vern was deeply saddened by Kenton's passing, as were so many of his fans.

It is hard for me to believe that three decades have passed since I last saw the Kenton band in person -- and even harder, because I often listen to his albums and recall how wonderful this band was in person as if I had just seen them last night.

Some of my favorite Kenton albums contain his broadcasts from the early 1940's, released on the Hindsight label in the 1970's. You can hear excerpts from them in the audio players below. But I've liked Kenton from other decades, too, because in the best tradition of jazz, he was always changing his arrangements to dovetail with the musicians in his band at any given time.

Like Woody Herman, Kenton attracted the finest young musicians around. In the 1960's and 1970's, these musicians were throroughly schooled in music at North Texas State University, Julliard, the Eastman School of Music, and a few other fine instiutions.

Look who some of Kenton's musicians were! I've posted a list of his personnel on the right, with links to corresponding web pages when I could find them. As you scroll through this list, it's like reading a "Who's Who in Jazz."

If you are a Kenton fan, as I am, please send me some of your thoughts and comments and memories of Kenton and his band. Perhaps the music, photos, and videos below will trigger your memories....

George Spink
Los Angeles
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If you wish to know more about Stan Kenton, our FreeFind search engine will help you:

Early Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton - Saturday Swing Shift George Spink - Feb. 7, 1981

June Christy

June Christy

June Christy and Stan Kenton

June Christy and Stan Kenton

June Christy

The Misty Miss Christy

The Misty Miss Christy


Rendevous Ballroom 1941	Balboa Pier (Recent Photo)	Rendevous Ballroom 1941

Stan Kenton		Stan Kenton
	Capitol Records in Hollywood, where Stan Kenton recorded so many records in the 1940's and 1950's.

Buddy Childers and Stan Kenton circa 1948 - William P. Gottleib Photo

Redondo Beach, where Stan Kenton often played at Howard Rumsey's "Lighthouse," is about 15 miles south of Santa Monica -- a short drive in the L.A. scheme of things. A yellow push pin indicates Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is between the beach and Sepuveda Boulevard. Satellite image courtesy of Googe Earth.

You'll find more than 125 Stan Kenton videos on You Tube!