Search - Stan Kenton :: New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm

Dick A. from DALLAS, TX
Reviewed on 11/10/2006...

Here's Stan with maybe the hottest of his many bands! Cut in '52, it's a dozen tracks of some of the standards, and some of the most creative of of his many writers. Guys like Bill Russo, Gene Roland, & Bill Holman.

Gerry Mulligan's pen is here as well on a couple of tracks.

This music ya' gotta LISTEN to!

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Guilt-Free Kenton

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 02/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A controversial, marginal jazz figure to some (Kenton barely rated a mention in Ken Burns' 20-hour jazz series on PBS) and a giant who attracts cult-like devotion from many others, Kenton's career from 1941 to 1979 provides plenty of musical evidence for all hypotheses about his originality and influence, not to mention the perennial question of whether he "swings." Of all his recordings, "New Concepts" is the most non-controversial and perhaps the most musical. The emphasis is on fresh, swinging mainstream jazz influenced by the innovations of Bird, Miles, and the beboppers. I can think of no other recording by Kenton, and perhaps by any other musician, that features so many great arrangers and players--from Bill Russo and Bill Holman to Maynard, Rosolino, and Lee Konitz. In fact, in the company of these cutting-edge arrangements and inventive solos, the inclusion of a "pretentious" Kenton production number--"This Is an Orchestra," narrated with great dramatic flare by Stan himself--is a welcome bonus.The band of 1956 ("Kenton in Hi-Fi" and "Cuban Fire") proved to be Stan's most popular ensemble, but musicians and serious listeners will want to pick up the 1952 "New Concepts" album first. With this one in the collection, you might be forgiven for indulging yourself in Kenton's 44-piece Innovations Orchestra as well as the garish but bracing Wagnerian textures and brassy brilliance of the Neophonic and Mellophonium ensembles that would come later. I won't tell anyone (especially since at the moment I'm luxuriating in the sheer sonic sensuousness of the trombone choir on Stan's "Here's That Rainy Day")."

An Old Friend

Thom Neko | 02/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just found Kenton's New Concepts in Artistry in Rhythm after a long search. It's like renewing a friendship with an old friend. In my opinion the Prologue is a classic and the entire album is wonderful. I guess I just don't agree with those who said Kenton didn't swing. Maybe I'm one of the "cult" members (never been a cult member before!) or just maybe Stan, even many years after his death, is still so far ahead of his time (as I believe he always was) that there are many who "just don't get it.""