Music of Stan Kenton
Two essential chapters of the Stan Kenton Orchestra: the powerhouse 1940s dance band and the radical 1962 Adventures in Time session. Intermission Riff, Artistry Jumps, and Painted Rhythm define the early signature sound: massed brass, stop-time punches, and surgical precision. The Peanut Vendor anticipates Afro-Cuban jazz, while Minor Riff and Artistry in Boogie push into darker territory.
The second half features all Johnny Richards compositions from Adventures in Time, where Kenton abandoned the dance-band format for concert-orchestra ambition: shifting meters, through-composed structures, harmonies drawn from Stravinsky and Bartók. Highlights include the angular Commencement, the rigorous Quintile, the rhythmic engine 3 × 3 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 72, the searching Artemis, and the haunting closer Aperçu. A bandleader who wasn't trying to be Basie or Ellington, he was building something new.
Artist(s): Tracks 1-8:
Conductor – Stan Kenton
Bass – Don Bagley
Drums – Mel Lewis
Guitar – Ralph Blaze
Piano – Stan Kenton
Saxophone – Bill Perkins, Jack Nimitz, Lennie Niehaus, Skeets Herfurt, Spence Sinatra, Vido Musso
Timbales – Chico Guerrero
Trombone – Bob Fitzpatrick, Carl Fontana, Don Kelly, Kent Larsen, Milt Bernhart
Trumpet – Don Paladino, Ed Leddy, Maynard Ferguson, Pete Candoli, Sam Noto
Tracks 9-16:
Conductor – Stan Kenton
Written-By, Arranged By – Johnny Richards
Alto Saxophone [Lead] – Gabe Baltazar
Baritone Saxophone – Allan Beutler
Bass – Bucky Calabrese
Bass Saxophone – Joel Kaye
Drums – Dee Barton
Mellophone [Mellophonium (lead)] – Ray Starling
Mellophone [Mellophonium] – Dwight Carver, Joe Burnett, Lou Gasca
Percussion [Utility] – Steve Dweck
Tenor Saxophone – Don Menza, Ray Florian
Trombone – Newell (Bud) Parker, Tom Ringo
Trombone [Bass] – Jim Amlotte
Trombone [Lead] – Bob Fitzpatrick
Trumpet – Bob Behrendt, Gary Slavo, Keith La Motte, Marv Stamm
Trumpet [Lead] – Dalton Smith
Tuba – Dave Wheeler
Recording Info: Tracks 1-8
Recorded at Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood, California, February 1956
Producer: Lee Gillette
Recording Engineer: John Palladino
Tracks 9-16
Recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California, September 24–28, 1962
Producer: Lee Gillette
Recording Engineer: Carson Taylor
Transferred from Tape
Components used for Transfer:
This transfer leverages precision analog playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with a modified Studer A810 with Flux Heads, fed through a Merrill Audio Master MX Tape Head Preamp. The analogue signal is converted via a Merging Hapi converter, synchronised to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. All components receive isolated power conditioning through a Shunyata Research Everest 8000 with Shunyata Sigma-X power cords, while grounding infrastructure utilises Shunyata ALTAIRA hubs to minimise noise floor and preserve sonic detail throughout the transfer chain.
1 Intermission Riff 3:02
2 The Peanut Vendor 4:33
3 Artistry Jumps 2:38
4 Interlude 3:00
5 Unison Riff 3:09
6 Minor Riff 2:58
7 Artistry In Boogie 2:37
8 Painted Rhythm 3:01
9 Commencement 3:09
10 Quintile 7:01
11 Artemis 5:36
12 3 x 3 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 72 4:31
13 March To Polaris 5:55
14 Septuor From Antares 3:50
15 Artemis And Apollo 4:35
16 Apercu 3:57
Please Note: This release was edited in DXD PCM from a DSD256 Master, then the DXD edited master was used to generate the final DSD files using Merging Technologies Album Publishing.
DXD (352.8KHz 24/32 bit PCM) is one of the best and least destructive formats for post-processing DSD originated digital recordings.
Copyright © & ℗ High Definition Tape Transfers 2026, including all compilation, transfer, remastering, and restoration aspects
 |
 |