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Stan Kenton: Salute!

Stan Kenton, one of the most renowned and influential bandleaders of the twentieth century, died on August 25, 1979. Fortunately—for the sake of history in general and creative music in particular—Kenton's remarkable legacy lives on, and in a perceptive and open-minded world would endure forever. Even to this day, small but devoted groups of enthusiasts share a wish that some previously hidden array of his material might come to light, satisfiying for the moment their craving for more memorable music from an orchestra they look upon as the crown jewel of jazz's Golden Age of big-band ascendancy.

And for them there is good news indeed: Salute!, comprising seventeen seldom-heard themes by the Kenton orchestra, spanning almost two decades (1954-73) and recorded by master engineer Wally Heider during a dozen concert performances. For Kenton fans, this is a veritable gold mine of fresh material including several numbers that may be new to the ears of even the most ardent Kenton aficionados.

An example of that arises early on with Bill Holman's "The Opening" (not to be confused with "The Opener"), an exuberant flag-waver from 1954 that features blistering solos by Holman, trumpeter Herb Pomeroy, baritone Boots Mussulli and alto Charlie Mariano to underscore powerful timekeeping by the great drummer Mel Lewis. In one listener's opinion, this track alone raises Salute! into the big-band stratosphere. Other numbers recorded either infrequently or never by the orchestra include Manny Albam's "Sam Meets the Mambo" (showcasing trumpeter Sam Noto and conguero Candido), Roger Middleton's bluesy "Captain Obu," Ken Hanna's rhythmic "Beeline East" and Mark Taylor's buoyant "Just Bones" for trombones and rhythm.

Themes that are more familiar but no less engaging include "My Funny Valentine," "Take the 'A' Train," "When Your Lover Has Gone," Russ Freeman's "The Wind," "Jersey Bounce," "Prelude to a Kiss," "Tico Tico," "Tuxedo Junction," "Street of Dreams" and Johnny Mandel's "The Shadow of Your Smile." There is one vocal, by a noticeably off-key Jean Turner, on "A Lot of Livin' to Do." Besides those already mentioned, the orchestra's roster of impressive soloists includes no less than Charlie Parker (on "My Funny Valentine"), trumpeters Rolf Ericson, Ed Leddy, Vinnie Tanno, Billy Catalano, Marvin Stamm and Ray Starling; altos Gabe Baltazar and John Park; trombonists Carl Fontana, Archie LeCoque, Dick Shearer and Bob Spoon; baritone Billy Root (featured on "Jersey Bounce"); bass trombonist Bobby Knight (ditto on "Captain Obu"), tenor Jay Migliori and bassist Curtis Counce.

For those who have been eagerly awaiting "new" music by the Kenton orchestra, here it is, impeccably performed and neatly wrapped. Playing time is a generous seventy-nine minutes, sound quality as clear as could be expected from that era. Best of all, it is the superlative Stan Kenton Orchestra in all its brash and adventurous glory, and that is well worth hearing and admiring.