Adventures In Blue - Stan Kenton

 

Dragonwyck

From The Creative World Of Stan Kenton

Adventures In Blue

Produced by Lee Gillette

Capitol ST 1985 STEREO

1963

Saxophones

Gabe Baltazar, alto (lead)

Buddy Arnold, tenor

Paul Renzi, tenor

Allan Beutler, baritone

Joel Kaye, bass

Gene Roland, soprano

Trombones

Bob Fitzpatrick (lead)

Dee Barton

Newell "Bud" Parker

Bass Trombones

Dave Wheeler

Jim Amlotte

Trumpets

Dalton Smith (lead)

Marv Stamm

Bob Behrendt

Bob Rolfe

Norman Baltazar

Mellophoniums

Dwight Carver (lead)

Keith La Motte

Ray Starling

Carl Saunders

Gene Roland, solo horn

Bass

Pat Senatore

Drums

Jerry McKenzie

From the back cover: When his orchestra made its debut on the big band scene in 1941 at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California, Stan Kenton created with his library of thirty-five arrangements a fiercely-original and pervasive sound. Since then the creative resources of no less than twenty orchestrators, writing at various stages in the band's history, have helped Stan increase the library to well over 4500 scores (In 1962, because of its historical significance, Kenton's library was sent to North Texas State University in order that it could be made available for research and preserved for posterity. Every arrangement, excluding the material unavoidably lost during twenty-two years of concert and dance dates and the current material, is now safely stored in North Texas State's music library.)

Adventures In Blue dramatizes the excitement and assiduous originally Kenton has for the past two decades demanded be infused into the band's library. Each of Gene Roland's minor-keyed compositions, from the wailing Night At The Gold Nugget to the pensive Dragonwyck, not only runs the gamut of all the emotions synonymous with the blues, but also emphasizes Stan's comment that "the band's music must symbolize a civilization in motion, and help fulfill the creative challenges of the Twentieth Century."

Roland's long tenure with the Orchestra, since 1944, as a sideman and orchestrator has had an impressive influence in helping to construct the musical architecture of the band. In 1946 he suggested that the complement of trombones be increased from four to five. The addition of Bart Varsalona's bass trombone gave the section a resonant, more cohesive sound and had a marked effect on the writing done, not only for Kenton's trombones, but brass sections in general.

In Omaha, Nebraska, Roland urged Stan to add a fifth trumpet to the section so that the clean, stabbing sound of the trumpets could be orchestrated with new dimension against the dusky patterns of the trombones and reeds.

In 1960, seven months before Kenton added the mellophoniums to the Orchestra, Roland toured for five months with the eighteen-piece band playing solo horn, pre-testing the range and intonation of the mellophonium so that when the time came to write for a full section, most of the technical and orchestrational problems were ironed out. – Noel Welder

From Billboard - November 16, 1963: A Kenton jazz venture into the blues, featuring nine of orchestrator Gene Roland's compositions. Roland, a Kenton stalwart for 19 years, also sits in on this set with his soprano sax. The performances emphasize the interplay of stabbing trumpets with vibrant massed trombones. Package will be a must for Kenton fans and all jazz lovers.

Reuben's Blues

Dragonwyck

Blue Ghost

Exit Stage Left

Night At The Gold Nugget

Formula SK-32

Aphrodisia

Fitz

The Blues Story