Search - Stan Kenton :: Adventures in Jazz

The "Mellophone Band" At Its BEST !

C. Law | Las Vegas, NV USA | 06/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"MY FAVORITE KENTON ALBUM! (A tough choice, because I have them ALL !) I waited YEARS for this re-issue, having long since worn out my vinyl copy completely.In 1963 Stan added a section of mellophoniums (a sort of hybrid, bell-front french horn with pistons, that he and G.C.Conn in Elkhart, Indiana, co-invented) to the band. Since a 14-piece brass section was bigger than a lot of road bands' total number of musicians, the economics of it only allowed Stan to keep it for a little more than a year, but it was the most-recorded edition of the Kenton band. Just listen to Gabe Baltazar's alto, with the mellophones hanging above it, on "Stairway To The Stars" and you'll be hooked for good, too! The band heard here is another one of those Kenton All-Star editions. There are Gabe Baltazar, Sam Donohue, Marv Stamm and Dee Barton, just to name a few. (Check out Sam Donohue on "Body and Soul." Yes, that really IS a tenor saxophone way up there, making the guy on "Saturday Night Live" sound like a beginner!). Add great arrangements from Dee Barton, Johnny Richards, Bill Holman and others, and it's just plain hard NOT to love this album. 5 stars ! (just because they don't offer SIX ! )"

One of the best Kenton Albums!

rbi82 | 01/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As I say above, this is one of the best Kenton albums in my opinion. All the elements are there, screaming brass, soaring reeds! There are two compositions, Turtle Talk and Waltz of the Prophets, by Dee Barton. These are complex charts that really sound great, and are still accessible. Who could forget Bill Holman's arrangement of Malaguena? This song embodies the Kenton sound. It is one of the best! The tenor sax solo on Body and Soul is amazing, Ive never heard anyone else do that with the instrument."

Big Band + 4 Mellophoniums = Great Sound !

Daniel J. McGarigle | EL SEGUNDO, CA United States | 09/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THIS is the full sound of the Stan Kenton Band. I know of no other Kenton album that soars so high, engulphs so warmly, and drives so hard and so fully as this "Adventures In Jazz" album. It's the individual players, every one of the 22 of them, and Stan on piano, that pack enough energy into this album that make even professional players say things like " GOOD GOD ! ", and "LOOK OUT !", and "I can't believe that there could be SO MUCH POWER - WHEW !. And I like the music too !"



This album is not for the feint of heart, nor the quiet retiring moments, nor for romantic dancing. This is not dinner music, it's not easy listening, and it's not smooth jazz. As best I can do to describe it, is to say that this is the big boys music, by and for men, and the women who can handle it.



Braham & Furber's "Lime House Blues" is taken at a tempo way, way, way up around 240 beats per minute - and hang on from there out. Errol Garner's "Misty" is a real soundscape for the enormous sound you'll hear on a decent hi-fi system. The whole sound will not come out of speakers smaller than 12", because there is so much rich shading to be heard.



In Lime House Blues, drummer Jerry McKenzie and bassist Pat Senatore start it out there at 240 bpm, and then keep it there for 4 1/2 minutes. Every section of the band is heard, and some great solos too, all by the fabulous musicianship and talents of every band member.



The other 5 tracks are each soundscape experiences in their own right. And it's all organic, with no electronics anywhere.



If you ask what it's all like, I'll just say that it's "expanded big band music, on nitromethane". You'll need real muscle in your ears and your brain for this one.



Dan McGarigle, 2005

Los Angeles, CA"