Jazz at the HDM: Cuban Fire!

Stan Kenton (1911–1974) emancipated the big band from its existence as a dance orchestra and expanded its repertoire to include symphonic music and Third Stream. In doing so, he paved the way for jazz to be accepted in concert halls. Bill Russo remarked that "his mistakes were more important for jazz than the great successes of other musicians." On the other hand, as Joachim-Ernst Berendt wrote, he also made "swinging music that may not have been directly influenced by Count Basie, but which nevertheless fitted in perfectly with a time when Basie's spirit was alive and well." According to Carlo Bohländer, "Kenton's great achievement was to offer young composers and arrangers every opportunity for free development." Less well known is that Stan Kenton also enjoyed working with Latin music and was able to ignite "Cuban fire," as this concert proves.