THE NEGLECTED LEGACY OF KENTON

Despite the affection in which he was held by virtually everyone who worked for him and the relatively recent time frame of his contribution (he was active as a bandleader from 1941 until 1978, the year before he died), Stan Kenton’s image seems to have faded, while that of Duke Ellington, who died five years earlier, seems today stronger than ever.

What are the reasons for this disparity?

Several explanations come to mind. Although both men were active in the same four areas--as composer, arranger, bandleader, pianist--there was a vital difference: Many of Ellington’s instrumental works became pop-song hits and are constantly being played. Kenton, although words were once set to several of his pieces for an album, simply never had a hit song; his music remained primarily instrumental. Thus the volume of Ellington air play, either by the band itself or by innumerable singers, far outweighs the occasional reminder of Kenton’s works.

Second, and perhaps no less important, is the absence of an authorized Kenton ghost band; he decreed in his will that no such entity should be allowed. Meanwhile, Mercer Ellington continues to be heard, leading a band that includes several members who were with Duke in the early 1970s; in fact, the recent “Digital Duke” on GRP records has been on the jazz charts for several months.

Still another explanation lies in the roller-coaster nature of Kenton’s career on records, due partly to Capitol Records’ conversion to a pop-rock direction that left him on the sidelines. Four years ago, Gene Norman, of the Hollywood-based GNP-Crescendo Records, took over the rights to Kenton’s Capitol LPs and to those recorded for Kenton’s own label, Creative World. According to Norman, 68 Kenton albums are now available, though only two have appeared so far on CDs. Ellington is represented by a dozen CDs, some offering material never previously issued.

More relevant than any of these reasons is the jagged course that Kenton took during his 37 years in front of a band. In the early days, Kenton’s own writing, with a personal sax-section sound, gave the band its character. Then came Pete Rugolo, who was to Kenton as Billy Strayhorn was to Ellington. But Rugolo left early, in 1949, and the Kenton library for the rest of his career was drawn from dozens of sources, some verging on the classical (William Russo, Robert Graettinger), others closer to the Woody Herman concept (Shorty Rogers, Gerry Mulligan, Bill Holman), as well as Johnny Richards, Willie Maiden, Hank Levy and too many more to enumerate.

It wasn’t just the style of the band that kept changing from tune to tune; the size, personnel and objectives underwent a series of major transformations. There was the big, ambitious, string-laden orchestra of the “Innovations” years (early 1950s); the more swinging band of the mid-1950s, which for some of us was the best Kenton group of them all; the oddly enlarged band in the early 1960s using a section of “mellophoniums” (a short-lived experiment); the elaborate Neophonic Orchestra that lasted for a few seasons in Los Angeles and, of course, the various ventures with Latin or Afro-Cuban rhythms.

Because of these fluctuations, it is impossible to get a handle on exactly whom and what the Kenton orchestra represented. Meanwhile, the Ellington career from start to finish reflected the writing talent of one man--or, from 1939 on, of Duke and Billy Strayhorn, who was in effect his compositional twin. During that entire time (essentially 1927 to 1974), the band underwent relatively few changes in personnel; in 1970, Duke was able to frame works for Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Cootie Williams and others just as he had decades earlier.

Yet there is much in the Kenton legacy that sounds, in retrospect, more valuable than it seemed originally. Rugolo’s “Interlude” is a work of lasting charm; “Collaboration” by Rugolo and Kenton has a brashly distinctive character. Even “The Peanut Vendor,” mainly a head arrangement with a few Rugolo ideas added, is as invigorating now as when the band recorded it 40 years ago.

All this came to mind while attending a recent celebration staged in Kenton’s honor at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City. Among the 730 present were numerous Kenton alumni, non-Kenton celebrities (Henry Mancini, Dudley Moore) and a healthy contingent of Kenton camp followers, along with members of the bandleader’s family.

In general, it was a warm, touching evening, thanks mainly to the role played by Milt Bernhardt. A trombonist with the early Kenton orchestra, he is now a travel agent and, for nonprofit kicks, president of the Big Band Academy of America, under whose aegis the event took place.

Although various phases of the Kenton career were represented by the USC Studio Jazz Ensemble, conducted by Thom Mason, it was Bernhardt’s introductions of the band’s graduates that kept things moving. They were laced with a dry humor of which Kenton surely would have approved.

Bernhardt reminisced about the days of the screaming, chops-defying brass team (“Bellevue kept an open bed for the trumpet section”).

There was a roll call of the departed (Vido Musso, Shelly Manne, Kai Winding, Frank Rosolino, Art Pepper--he forgot Ed Safranski and Ernie Royal). Toward the end, Bernhardt quoted from a Kenton speech in which the maestro’s zest for life, his quest for change and his ability to ignite musicians and audiences came sharply into focus.

Undoubtedly, under the Kenton imprimatur, a substantial body of durable music was created. Why has its impact not been stronger and lasted longer?

There is one final explanation: It relates to Kenton’s following. Whereas Ellington from the start appealed to all audiences, from Harlem to the White House, Kenton (despite the occasional black sideman) was essentially a white phenomenon in terms of the musicians and the audience he attracted.

Kenton’s defensive attitude about white musicians, and particularly an angry telegram published in Down Beat complaining about the alleged excess of black winners in a critics’ poll, may have tarnished his reputation to the point where it was difficult to judge, objectively, a music that deserved to be assessed on merit.

He was not a giant as composers and arrangers go, but he does deserve to be remembered as a man whose determination brought to the forefront a long succession of talented soloists and arrangers, all of whom have nothing but fond recollections of him. That, surely, should be the essence of the Kenton legacy.

RECOMMENDED

KENTON RECORDINGS

“The Kenton Era” (Creative World ST 1030). With a spoken introduction and closing narration by Kenton, this four-LP set is an excellent retrospective of the band’s phases from 1941 to 1955.

“Contemporary Concepts” (Creative World 1003). The so-called “Bill Holman phase” finds the band in its best mainstream groove, with Holman charts and with solos by Sam Noto, Carl Fontana, Lennie Niehaus, Bill Perkins, et al.

“Live at Redlands University” (Creative World ST 1015; also on compact disc STD 1015). A two-record set with originals by Dee Barton, Willie Maiden, Hank Levy and others.