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Cuban Fire!
''Cuban Fire!'' is an album by Stan Kenton and his orchestra released in 1956 by Capitol Records. This was Stan Kenton's big band's first full-length recording of Afro-Cuban-styled music. The LP charted for four weeks in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' starting on September 15, 1956, peaking at #17. The concept of the original 1956 recording centers on the ''Cuban Fire!'' suite Kenton had commissioned from composer Johnny Richards. The 1991 CD re-issue is augmented with one extra track from the 1956 sessions and five cuts recorded four years later by the first of Kenton's mellophonium orchestras. Background and composition Though Stan Kenton had recorded earlier hits such as ''The Peanut Vendor'' in 1947 with Latin percussionist Machito, as well as many other Latin flavored singles, the ''Cuban Fire!'' suite and LP stands as a watershed set of compositions for Johnny Richards' career and an outstanding commercial/artistic achievement for the Kenton orchestra, and a singular l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though Kenton had several pop hits from the early 1940s into the 1960s, his music was always forward-looking. Kenton was also a pioneer in the field of jazz education, creating the Stan Kenton Jazz Camp in 1959 at Indiana University.Sparke, Michael. ''Stan Kenton: This is an Orchestra.'' UNT Press (2010). . Early life Stan Kenton was born on December 15, 1911, in Wichita, Kansas; he had two sisters (Beulah and Erma Mae) born three and eight years after him. His parents, Floyd and Stella Kenton, moved the family to Colorado, and in 1924, to the Greater Los Angeles Area, settling in suburban Bell, California. Kenton attended Bell High School; his high-school yearbook picture has the prophetic notation "Old Man Jazz". Kenton started learning pian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico covers ,Mexico ''''. . making it the world's 13th-largest country by are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtis Counce
Curtis Counce (January 23, 1926 – July 31, 1963) was an American hard bop and West Coast jazz double bassist. Biography Counce was born in Kansas City, Missouri and moved to California in 1945. He began recording in 1946 with Lester Young, and in the 1950s in Los Angeles with musicians such as Shorty Rogers, Stan Kenton, Shelly Manne, Spud Murphy, Lyle Murphy, Teddy Charles, and Clifford Brown. Counce formed his quintet in 1956 featuring tenor saxophonist Harold Land, trumpeter Jack Sheldon, pianist Carl Perkins (pianist), Carl Perkins and drummer Frank Butler (musician), Frank Butler. Elmo Hope replaced Perkins after his death at age 29 in 1958. Gerald Wilson replaced Sheldon on some recordings. The four albums originally released on Contemporary Records were reissued in 2006 on a double CD by Gambit Spain. Counce died in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack. He was survived by his wife, Mildred Counce, his daughter, Celeste Counce, and a son. Counce's son, born ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Lewis
Melvin Sokoloff (May 10, 1929 – February 2, 1990), known professionally as Mel Lewis, was an American jazz drummer, session musician, professor, and author. He received fourteen Grammy Award nominations. Biography Early years Lewis was born in Buffalo, New York, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents Samuel and Mildred Sokoloff. He started playing professionally as a teen, eventually joining Stan Kenton in 1954. His musical career brought him to Los Angeles in 1957 and New York City in 1963.''All Music Guide to Jazz''. Yanow, Scott (1996). Miller Freeman Books. Career In 1966 in New York, he teamed up with Thad Jones to lead the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. The group started as informal jam sessions with the top studio and jazz musicians of the city, but eventually began performing regularly on Monday nights at the famed venue, the Village Vanguard. In 1979, the band won a Grammy for their album '' Live in Munich''. Like all of the musicians in the band, it was only a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Noto
Sam Noto (born April 17, 1930) is an American jazz trumpeter born in Buffalo, New York, perhaps best known for his work with Stan Kenton during the 1950s. Select discography * 1975 ''Entrance!'' ( Xanadu) * 1975 ''Act One'' (Xanadu) * 1977 ''Notes to You'' (Xanadu) * 1978 ''Noto-Riety'' (Xanadu) * 1987 ''2-4-5'' (Unisson) * 1999 ''Now Hear This'' (Supermono) With Count Basie * ''Pop Goes the Basie'' (Reprise, 1965) * ''The Happiest Millionaire'' (Coliseum, 1967) * ''Half a Sixpence'' ( Dot, 1967) With Al Cohn and Dexter Gordon * '' Silver Blue'' (1976; Xanadu) * '' True Blue'' (1976; Xanadu) With Stan Kenton * ''Kenton Showcase'' (Capitol, 1954) * ''Contemporary Concepts'' (Capitol, 1955) * '' Kenton in Hi-Fi'' (Capitol, 1956) * '' Cuban Fire!'' (Capitol, 1956) * ''Rendezvous with Kenton'' (Capitol, 1957) * ''Back to Balboa'' (Capitol, 1958) With Rob McConnell * ''The Jazz Album'' (1976; Sea Breeze) * ''Live in Digital'' (1980; Sea Breeze) * ''Night Flight'' (1993; Sea Breeze) Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lennie Niehaus
Leonard Niehaus (June 1, 1929 – May 28, 2020) was an American alto saxophonist, composer and arranger on the West Coast jazz scene. He played with the Stan Kenton Orchestra and served as one of Kenton's primary staff arrangers. He also played with Ray Vasquez and trombonist and Vocalist, Phil Carreon and other jazz bands on the U.S. West Coast. Niehaus had a close association as composer and arranger on motion pictures produced by Clint Eastwood. Life and career Education and active years as a musician Niehaus was born in St. Louis, Missouri on June 1, 1929 to Aaron "Père"and Clariss (Weissman) Niehaus. His mother was a homemaker. His father, a Russian immigrant, was a violinist who played in an orchestra that accompanied silent films in theaters. In the mid-1930s, after talking pictures had taken hold, he moved the family to Los Angeles, where he played in Hollywood studio orchestras. His sister was a concert pianist. His father started him on violin at age seven, then ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Fontana
Carl Charles Fontana (July 18, 1928 – October 9, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. After working in the big bands of Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, and Stan Kenton, he devoted most of his career to playing music in Las Vegas. Career Fontana was born in Monroe, Louisiana, United States. His first break into the professional jazz scene came in 1952, when he was hired to stand in for one of Woody Herman's regular trombonists, Urbie Green. When Green returned, Herman kept Fontana on as a permanent member of the band. After three years with Herman, Fontana joined Lionel Hampton's big band in 1954. In early 1955, he played briefly with Hal McIntyre and Chicago pianist and Playboy executive, Sam Distefano at Sam's Miami nightclub, The Stut 'n' Tut. He later joined Stan Kenton's big band. Fontana recorded three albums with Kenton and worked with trombonist Kai Winding during this period. After 1958, Fontana rarely toured, but undertook a 1966 tour of Africa with Herman's ban ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big band, afterward enjoying a long solo career, often in partnership with fellow saxmen Gerry Mulligan and Al Cohn. Biography Sims was born in 1925 in Inglewood, California, United States, to vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. His father was a vaudeville hoofer, and Sims prided himself on remembering many of the steps his father taught him. Growing up in a performing family, he learned to play drums and clarinet at an early age. His brother was the trombonist Ray Sims. Sims began on tenor saxophone at age 13. He initially modelled his playing on the work of Lester Young, Ben Webster, and Don Byas. By his late teens, having dropped out of high school, he was playing in big bands, starting with those of Kenny Baker and Bobby Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Perkins (saxophonist)
William Reese Perkins ( – ) was an American cool jazz saxophonist and flutist, popular on the West Coast jazz scene, known primarily as a tenor saxophonist. Born in San Francisco, California, United States, Perkins started performing in the big bands of Woody Herman and Jerry Wald. He worked for the Stan Kenton orchestra, which led to his entry into the cool jazz idiom. He began performing with Art Pepper and Bud Shank. He was also a member of The Tonight Show Band from 1970–1992 and The Lighthouse All-Stars. In the 1960s, Perkins had a second career as a recording engineer. He died of cancer in his Sherman Oaks home at the age of 79. Discography * '' The Brothers!'' with Al Cohn and Richie Kamuca (RCA Victor, 1955) * ''On Stage'' (Pacific Jazz, 1956) * ''Tenors Head-On'' with Richie Kamuca (Liberty, 1957) * ''Just Friends'' with Art Pepper, Richie Kamuca (Pacific Jazz, 1957) * ''Bossa Nova with Strings Attached'' (Liberty, 1963) * ''Quietly There'' (Riverside, 1966; r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucky Thompson
Eli "Lucky" Thompson (June 16, 1924 – July 30, 2005) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist whose playing combined elements of swing music, swing and bebop. Although John Coltrane usually receives the most credit for bringing the soprano saxophone out of obsolescence in the early 1960s, Thompson (along with Steve Lacy (saxophonist), Steve Lacy) embraced the instrument earlier than Coltrane. Early life Thompson was born in Columbia, South Carolina, and moved to Detroit, Michigan, during his childhood. Thompson had to raise his siblings after his mother died, and he practiced saxophone fingerings on a broom handle before acquiring his first instrument. He joined Erskine Hawkins' band in 1942 upon graduating from high school. Career After playing with the swing music, swing orchestras of Lionel Hampton, Don Redman, Billy Eckstine (alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker), Lucky Millinder, and Count Basie, he worked in rhythm and blues and then established ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bethlehem Records
Bethlehem Records was an American jazz independent record label, founded by Gus Wildi in 1953. History Bethlehem is remembered for its jazz releases from the 1950s. Producers included Creed Taylor and Teddy Charles. Bethlehem released the first albums recorded by singers Chris Connor (the dual releases ''Chris Connor Sings Lullabys for Lovers'' and ''Chris Connor Sings Lullabys of Birdland'') in 1954, Nina Simone ('' Little Girl Blue'') in 1958, and singer/actress Julie London. Julie London recorded four songs that were released on the EP ''Julie London'', and they were later added to the compilation LP ''Bethlehem's Girlfriends'' in 1955, which also featured Chris Connor and Carmen McRae. Bethlehem recorded the debut album by Marilyn Moore and the album ''Somebody Loves Me'' by Jerri Winters, in addition to many many modern jazz musicians including Howard McGhee, Herbie Nichols, Pat Moran McCoy, and Oscar Pettiford. In 1958, Bethlehem began a distributing deal with King Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock N' Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm and blues, boogie woogie, gospel, as well as country music. While rock and roll's formative elements can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s,Peterson, Richard A. ''Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity'' (1999), p. 9, . the genre did not acquire its name until 1954. According to journalist Greg Kot, "rock and roll" refers to a style of popular music originating in the United States in the 1950s. By the mid-1960s, rock and roll had developed into "the more encompassing international style known as rock music, though the latter also continued to be known in many circles as rock and roll."Kot, Greg"Rock and roll", in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', published online 17 June 2008 and also in p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
