Innovations in Modern Music

Trajectories
Theme for Sunday
Conflict
Incident in Jazz
Lonesome Road
Mirage
Solitaire
Cuban Episode

Album rating — ♪ ♪ ♪

Most of these numbers are scores that Kenton has been playing on his recent concert tour, are therefore interesting samples of what his innovational band is putting down.

These sides make it obvious that Stan has much to learn to be a conductor of a large aggregation. The old Kenton problem of monotonous dynamics is still here, as well as problems in phrasing and conception.

The mere presence of added numbers does not make for more varied music. It indeed can make a fine stew into sloppy pottage unless perfectly handled.

Sometimes, too, Stan’s enthusiasm for the sonorousness of his own words runs away with him. He introduced Trajectories at the New York concert by saying that as a disciple of the late Schillinger, Marks had introduced some completely unique sounds in this composition.

Unique to Kenton, yes. Unique? No. For all Marks has done here is to take an attractive theme and to present it split between several sections, as a round and canon, and with the rhythm section constantly accenting theme elements. This device, common to symphonic orchestration for more than half a century, has been for a long time the color property of a brilliant young man named Eddie Sauter, who started doing it with Red Norvo in 1936, went on to further heights with Goodman and other bands. Listen to Eddie’s Superman for Goodman, done in 1940, and the 1946 score of Borderline for Ray McKinley, and see if you feel this side, while attractive, is an innovation.

Theme for Sunday is the familiar grandiose arpeggio piano style of Kenton, with the Louis Alteresque theme developed in expected manner. The piece fares better here than in concert, since the strings are well-balanced with respect to the band and the general lack of attention to dynamics can be controlled by the recording engineers. Careful listeners to Stan’s piano sections will hear many of the same ideas he has used before on other recordings.

Conflict introduces the familiar Rugolo horns in half-tone chromatic agony, modified in this case by strings used in quarter tones for a brief section before Miss Christy steps in a la Kay Davis. My great complaint to this sort of is writing of Pete’s is that while it may depict the kind of agonized neuroticism that Stan programaticaily feels is necessary (commercially? ), it is pretentious musically. As a result, a little of it is a strong diet for quite a while. Not only that, but if you analyze closely the writing of this kind that the Kenton organization has displayed in the last three or four years, you will hear a considerable recurrence of the same elements. Not just the style itself, but actual idea elements. Incident, by Bob Graettinger is more familiar beat-conscious Kenton jazz.

In his remarks about his band Kenton made the very valid comment that you don’t need a driving rhythm section to get a great beat or great jazz. However, it requires a unity of musical conception and leadership which too often these grooves do not show.

Road is another June Christy vocal taken at extravagantly slow tempo. At least her intonation is much superior to five years ago, her phrasing freer. A later jump vocal chorus reminds one of a similar effort some years ago by Mildred Bailey. Listen to it (Vocalion) should you care to hear what we mean by unified conception between musicians and singer.

Mirage is impressionistic tonal painting of the kind utilized by Ferde Grofe in some of his older scores. Granted that Rugolo’s use of orchestra here is more skillful—nevertheless the traditional objection to this kind of music has been that it was a mere palette of effects, not really an organized esthetic whole of music. And effects, no matter how clever, cannot be justified in the long run for themselves alone. Bill Russo’s Solitaire, designed as a showcase for trombonist Milt Bernhart, has some of the most thematic writing, with interesting use of strings. Chico O’Farrell’s Cuban Episode gives Carlos Vidal chance to display his conga virtuosity. Still wish someone would design a knee strap for conga drums, so that on a tune of this kind the drummer doesn’t end half the time in a football crouch trying to play and hold onto his drum at the same time.

This is an interesting album as a Kenton effort. From jazz or concert standpoint, however, it reproduces the same difficulties as were found with Kenton’s actual concert work. Too often the music is pretentious, bombastic, not possessed of enough real thematic and technical worth to justify the panoply of effects laid on it. It’s to be hoped that both in person and on records, Stan’s next effort will not merit this judgment. (Capitol P 189.)

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Michael Levin. “Record Review. Innovations in Modern Music (Capitol).” Down Beat. 2 June 1950: 14-15.

INNOVATIONS IN MODERN MUSIC—Stan Kenton Orchestra (4-12")
Capitol EDL-189

Lonesome Road; Incident In Jazz; Mirage; Theme for Sunday; Cuban Episode; Trajectories; Solitaire; Conflict.

The confusion ls gradually disappearing. Stan Kenton finally beginning to emerge Into the musical maturity which he long, has been striving to find. His work as a big jazz band leader has oft been described as fanatical, crazy, impossible—but he proved everyone wrong with his box-office results. This album serves as an introduction to his most radical attempt to date. Herein he comes as close to merging the essence of jazz with a potpourri of modem classic Ideas as anyone has ever managed to do. In fact, it would be proper to treat parts of this package as long-hair. Here Kenton uses 20 strings to go with his usual complement and June Christy. The writing bears strong traces of Villa-Lobos, Richard Strauss, Bartok, Ives as well as Lennie Trlstano, Kenton, Rugolo, Ralph Burns. Since Kenton's market is basically a youthful, popular one, this must be considered a most provocative effort. He's bringing his market face to face with thought music. Instead of stuff for the tapping foot. It's commendable. What's more important, it's likely to sell plenty of albums.

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"Record Review: Innovations in Modern Music." Billboard. 25 March 1950: 41.