Customer Reviews

Ballad Style of Stan Kenton (Reis)

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In "The Ballad Style" Stan Kenton proves two points: 1st, that the classic American ballad is a genuine musical genre worthy of the most serious consideration by music lovers the world over, and 2nd that Stan understood the genre as well, if not better, than anyone else. This CD is the best of both!

In listening to the Kenton legacy, the contributions of many arrangers are prevalent. Kenton liked to give new talent opportunity. This selection will re-acquaint you with Kenton's talents as an arranger on some standards... but standards chosen with great discrimination and given a sound and style that you won't forget.

This was my first Amazon purchase. Have been looking for this for 25 years. So excited to see it here!! The most wonderful, sweet, romantic stuff. Takes me back to high school...great music to dream by... dream along with me...I LOVE Stan Kenton AND Amazon.com!!!!!

I have been a big Kenton fan for over 50yrs. I also posess most of his recordings on 78rpm,45rpm &of course lps and cds. If Stan was alive today he would be on top of the charts, above the rest when it comes to JAZZ KENTON style.Thank you ,Gene

I never bought this album when it was new and I was a kid. The reason then was that I felt Kenton was too dynamic to ever do a romance type album...ugh! Now, of course, I am getting on in age and this album is truly beautiful.

I remember when this album first came out on LP and thinking, "I don't want a romantic Kenton album!' Now in my twilight years I have added this wonderful CD to the extensive collection of Kenton albums that I now have and wish I had done so years ago.

Capitol's latterday released CD's of Stan Kenton's less jazz-orientated albums evidence no extra effort in finding extra tracks or even alternative tracks in their vaults. All you get is a straight copy of very short LP's. I could never understand the rule in America that each side of pop or jazz LP's should last no more that 20 minutes. On classical albums if a movement lasted 30 minutes it went on one side - no problem. So as this CD is only 36 minutes long another album could easily have been included. On that basis alone one is not treated very generously by Capitol.

As for the music "Ballad" does not refer to every vocal music genre. Just as in the equally gloomy "Standards in Silhouette" (1959) all cheerful tunes with snappy lyrics are put on one side in favor of Sinatra-style laments over lost love. I note both albums include "Ill Wind" - the absolute gloomiest number on "In The Wee Small Hours". Nevertheless one gathers from other reviewers any release of once treasured vinyl LP's onto clear sounding CD's is welcome. That new copies (ordered from Amazon) of both CD's were "remaindered" indicates these short-shrift issues also have a deservedly short shelf life. Entirely appropriate, because at the time they were strictly commercial products made to pump up Stan's bank balance - to enable him to keep his band memebers paid and fed during his low period in the late 50'when inspiration was fading. Thankfully in 1960 he formed the mellophonium band and made some of the greatest JAZZ albums of his long illustrious career. These are the one's newcomers to Stan Kenton oeuvre should buy first. If you want the best of his slow paced albums "Lush Interlude" and "The Stan Kenton Touch" are arrangments by Stan's partner Pete Rugolo of 20 of their original compositions with no Sinatra-songbook overtones.

One of Kenton's best when it come to soft music.