Adventures in Jazz [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Stan Kenton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B00000JYR0
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,150 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #23 in Music > Indie Music > Pop > Instrumental Pop & Lounge
  • #99 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Swing Jazz

Editorial Reviews

No description available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Rating:
Release Date: 0000-00-00
Media Type: Compact Disk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Mellophone Band" At Its BEST !, June 16, 2000

By 

C. Law "Charlie Law" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adventures in Jazz (Audio CD)

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 ! )

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Kenton Albums!, January 26, 2001

By 

"rbi82" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adventures in Jazz (Audio CD)

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.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Band + 4 Mellophoniums = Great Sound !, September 28, 2005

By 

Daniel J. McGarigle (EL SEGUNDO, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adventures in Jazz (Audio CD)

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