Kenton, Stan

Kenton, Stan

▪ American musician
byname of  Stanley Newcomb Kenton  
born Feb. 19, 1912, Wichita, Kan., U.S.
died Aug. 25, 1979, Los Angeles

      American jazz bandleader, pianist, and composer who commissioned and promoted the works of many modern composer-arrangers and thrust formal education and big-band jazz together into what became the stage (or concert) band movement of the 1960s and '70s, involving thousands of high school and college musicians.

      Kenton began writing music in his teens, was a pianist and arranger for dance bands in the 1930s, and was influenced by Earl Hines as a pianist and by Claude Thornhill and Benny Carter as an arranger. Kenton formed his own band in 1940 and continued forming bands and touring almost until his death.

      Much of Kenton's music is more like nonswing 20th-century concert music than jazz or dance music, especially the serious works of Robert Graettinger (“City of Glass”), Johnny Richards (“Cuban Fire”), and Russ Garcia (“Adventures in Emotions”) and pieces by Bill Holman, Bill Russo, and others. Kenton also featured outstanding jazz improvisers, including saxophonists Lee Konitz and Art Pepper, trumpeter Conte Candoli, and trombonist Frank Rosolino, but the emphasis was less on improvisation than on elaborate arrangements, often employing instruments uncommon to earlier jazz such as bass saxophone, tuba, French horn, strings, and mellophonium (a trumpet–French horn hybrid commissioned by Kenton). He also showed a keen interest in Latin-American music and often used a Latin percussionist. The most typical band sound involved high, loud, block-voiced trumpet playing, with five- and six-note chords, and open-voiced trombone-section harmonies. Saxophone passages written in sixteenth notes were also a Kenton trademark, as was his use of the full range of loudness levels that could be extracted from a band.

      Kenton was responsible for the “progressive jazz” label that some mistake for all modern jazz and some use to identify all Kenton-linked jazz. Some critics place his music in the “cool jazz” category and, being based in California, many of his players—including Shorty Rogers, Bill Perkins, and Shelly Manne—were identified with West Coast jazz, a subcategory of cool jazz.

      From 1970 Kenton ran his own combination record company, publishing house, and promotional network, called Creative World. His best-known composition is “Artistry in Rhythm,” the band's theme. Among his most popular recordings are “Intermission Riff,” “Eager Beaver,” and “Peanut Vendor.”

Additional Reading
Biographies include Carol Easton, Straight Ahead: The Story of Stan Kenton (1973, reprinted 1981); and William F. Lee, Stan Kenton: Artistry in Rhythm (1980), with a discography.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kenton, Stan(ley Newcombe) — born Feb. 19, 1912, Wichita, Kan., U.S. died Aug. 25, 1979, Los Angeles, Calif. U.S. pianist, composer, arranger, and leader of one of the most popular and controversial big bands in jazz. Kenton formed his first band in 1941. The group exhibited …   Universalium

  • Kenton, Stan(ley Newcombe) — (19 feb. 1912, Wichita, Kan., EE.UU.–25 ago. 1979, Los Ángeles, Cal.). Pianista, compositor, arreglista y director estadounidense de una de las orquestas más populares y controvertidas de jazz. Kenton formó su primera orquesta en 1941. El grupo… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Stan Kenton — (Wichita, 15 de diciembre de 1911 Los Ángeles, 25 de agosto de 1979), músico estadounidense de jazz que ejerció como director de big band, arreglista, compositor y pianista (influido por Earl Hines). D …   Wikipedia Español

  • Kenton (disambiguation) — Kenton may refer to:;People *Darren Kenton *Erle C. Kenton (1896 1980), an American film director *Lou Kenton *Rodrigo Kenton *Simon Kenton *Stan Kenton (1911 1979), an American jazz musician *Kenton Noble (1992 ), a Canadian student, primarily… …   Wikipedia

  • Stan Kenton — Stanley Newcomb „Stan“ Kenton (* 15. Dezember 1911[1] in Wichita, Kansas; † 25. August 1979 in Los Angeles) war ein US amerikanischer Jazz Pianist, komponist, Orchesterleiter und Musik …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Stan Kenton Band Clinics — were summer programs founded by Stan Kenton in 1959. Kenton conceived the idea out of concern that education of jazz and all its forms were not reaching teenagers who showed signs of interest in it. He strongly felt that the survival of jazz… …   Wikipedia

  • Kenton '51 Concert At Cornell University — Album par Stan Kenton Enregistrement 14 octobre 1951 Bailey Hall, Cornell University, Ithica …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Stan Kenton — Naissance le 15 décembre 1911 à Wichita (Kansas) Pays d’origine …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Stan Levey — Nom Stan Levey Naissance 5 avril 1926 Pays d’origine Américain Décès 19 avril 2005 Activité principale …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Kenton — ist der Name der Orte Kenton (London), Stadtteil von London, der in zwei verschiedenen Stadtbezirken (Borough of Brent, Borough of Harrow) liegt Kentone (Devon), Ort in der Grafschaft Devon Kenton (Newcastle upon Tyne) Kenton (Suffolk) in den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”