Customer Reviews

Kenton Plays Chicago

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is exciting. The arrangements of Chicago and Blood, Sweat, and Tears are probably better than the originals (no vocals). Bob Curnow did all the arrangements, and much to my surprise (being a band director who has played his concert music) the arrangements are smoking. Not sure where the flaws are at- this album burns for 34 minutes. The short length is my only concern, but the music is quite good. Highly recommended.

This is one of Kenton's last albums, again revealing that he was constantly reaching for new expressions of jazz. This is a most challenging, often swinging, sometimes beautiful, occasionally flawed (especially the saxaphone solo on the last cut)recording that deserves to be in the collections of all Kenton fans. The trumpet section has chops of steel!

Stan Kenton had one of the greatest big bands ever. I personally think his band was beter than Buddy Rich's! Kenton plays Chicago is an amazing addition to all the great albums by him, like, Journey to Capricorn, Kenton 76, and Adventures in Jazz. He made fun, challenging, and versatile arrangements of some great Chicago songs, Free and Mother being my personal favorites. I would highly reccomend this album for any fan of Kenton or jazz in general. The trombones rock out in Mother and Free, and the trumpet players chops are made of iron. Buy this album!

A nice mix of Chicago, BS&T, and some Bob Curnow originals. If you like the originals and like Kenton, it's a no-brainer. A word of warning though -- the trumpets are often HORRIBLY out of tune to the point of being painful to the ears. It rather reminds me of a high school marching band, quite uncharacteristic of the quality one would expect from Kenton.

This album will mean different things to different people.

For folks who were in their high school jazz band in the mid-1970s, or for anyone who attended one of those week-long Kenton orchestra-in-residence workshops (I attended FIVE), this is an essential album that includes definitive versions of classic charts. Thousands of school stage bands played pieces from this album; you'll probably be able to hum along with "Alone", "Free", and "Inner Crisis". Trombonists around the country memorized Dick Shearer's interpretation of "Alone" (while bassists copied Mike Ross' bass licks), and the Blue Devils turned this arrangement of "Free" into a drumcorps anthem. Count ME in with this camp -- I listen to this album and feel like I'm 15 all over again. If you're like me, you MUST own this album. Furthermore, if like me you later advanced more deeply into jazz, you'll discover things on the album that you probably ignored or didn't understand before (more below).

If you are an older fan of 1950s Kenton, this album may be a bit frustrating. There are flashes of the old Kenton sound, particularly on the ballads, and on "Rise and Fall of a Short Fugue". But much of the time you'll wonder why all the rock beats. That said, I do remember that my grandfather enjoyed this album and his Kenton albums were from the 1950s.

If you are a knowledgeable jazz listener or musician, you'll find this album to be an interesting mix of brilliancies and failures. The arrangements are what the album is really about, and for the most part they are all excellent. As a kid, the essential track was "Alone", and I didn't understand "Rise and Fall of a Short Fugue". Now, years later, it is "Rise and Fall" that stands the test of time -- it is a jazz masterpiece with its angular mix of avant-garde time, unique cascading brass parts, free solos, and ferocious swing. On other tracks, the rock beats and occasional heavy-handed use of reverb may cause you to roll your eyes.

The big star of this record is Bob Curnow. All of the arrangements are his, as well as the original composition "Rise and Fall of a Short Fugue". This album firmly cements his reputation as one of the great big band arrangers/composers of our time.

The soloists range from wildly exciting to - er, not so great. People familiar with Tony Campise's recent pop/swing recordings will be shocked to hear him sounding very much like Eric Dolphy here -- as a kid I hated his solo on "Inner Crisis" and didn't understand it. Years later I heard it again and it knocked me out - if you like Eric Dolphy you'll love this. Drummer Peter Erskine is on fire throughout, once again producing some of the finest big band drumming on record. Bari-player Roy Reynolds and flugelist Kevin Jordan produce decent solos, the latter is pretty on "First Child". Trombonists Dick Shearer and Brett Stamps play a rather meandering but well-coordinated duet on "Mother"... as kids we thought Dick was the star, but now I can see that Stamps was the better jazz improviser. Still, there is no denying Dick's gutsy attack on "Alone", he WAS indeed a great lead player. I never understood Mike Barrowman's randomly-squeaky trumpet solo on "Free" - and it still sounds like nonsense to me today.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that any album with John Harner playing lead trumpet (and unfortunately there aren't many) is worth getting. John - of "send in the clowns" fame - was Kenton's finest lead trumpet after Maynard, and he soars on this album. His phrasing on the climaxes will lift up the hairs on the back of your neck, especially on "Alone".

*** NOTE - the samples on Amazon's audio sampler are not labeled properly. ***