''7.5 on the Richter Scale'' is an album by American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musician

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 K ...

and his Orchestra that was released in 1973. Recording sessions for the album took place during August 1973 in Hollywood, California.

Background

Until ''7.5 on the Richter Scale'' the band had primarily made swing recordings with progressive leanings. The 1969

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

release of ''Stan Kenton: The Music of Hair'' was the only other time since 1943 that Kenton moved away from his style. He had no involvement in the '' Hair'' album except for his name appearing on the jacket cover.

Ralph Carmichael Ralph Carmichael (May 27, 1927 – October 18, 2021) was an American composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music. Early Life and Career ...

and

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 ...

were in charge. Producer Lee Gillette at Capitol was trying to take advantage of the popularity of the musical. Due to lack of promotion, the album was a commercial failure, and this was Kenton's last album for Capitol. In 1970 Kenton moved to his label, Creative World Records, when the music industry was changing. He turned to arrangers

Hank Levy Henry Jacob "Hank" Levy (September 27, 1927 – September 18, 2001) was an American jazz composer and saxophonist whose works often employed unusual time signatures. He is best known as a big band composer for Stan Kenton and the Don Ellis Orc ...

and

Bob Curnow Robert Harry "Bob" Curnow (born November 1, 1941) is an American musician who served as a trombonist, staff arranger and producer for the Stan Kenton Orchestra during the 1960s and 1970s.Sparke, Michael; Venudor, Peter (1998). "Stan Kenton, The ...

to write material that appealed to a younger audience. The first albums released by Creative World were concerts by Kenton. He controlled the content, but he lacked the resources to engineer and produce what Capitol had paid for in the past. He gambled that he could rely on direct mail to jazz fans to sell albums. During 1973 Kenton wanted to change the band drastically. He told

Gene Roland Gene M. Roland (September 15, 1921 in Dallas – August 11, 1982 in New York City) was an American jazz composer and musician. He played many instruments during his career, but was most significant as an arranger/composer and for his associati ...

to come up with a rock-oriented album that would retain the Kenton sound. By June 1973 Curnow had become

artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire ( colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumental ...

manager overseeing Creative World, and he produced the album. Much of the music Roland produced fell short of his previous work. Other writers were called for help. "We (did) ''7.5 On the Richter Scale'' with some pretty wild things on there, including my chart of Paul McCartney's " Live and Let Die".

Track listing

Personnel

* Stan Kenton – piano * Paul Adamson – trumpet * Mike Barrowman – trumpet * Dennis Noday – trumpet * Gary Pack – trumpet *

Jay Saunders Jay Saunders ''(né'' John Henry Saunders III; born 29 June 1944 Sacramento, California) is an American trumpeter and music educator at the collegiate level. In the 1970s, Saunders was a lead trumpeter with big bands — notably the Stan Kenton Or ...

– trumpet * Mike Snustead – trumpet * Dale Devoe – trombone * Bill Hartman – trombone *

Dick Shearer Richard Bruce Shearer (September 21, 1940 – September 20, 1997) was an American jazz trombonist. Career Shearer was lead trombonist and music director for the Stan Kenton Orchestra. He succeeded Jim Trimble in the late 1960s, led the band ...

– trombone * Lloyd Spoon – trombone * Mike Wallace – trombone, tuba * Mary Fettig – saxophone * John Park – saxophone * Kim Park – saxophone * Roy Reynolds – saxophone * Richard Torres – saxophone * Kerby Stewart – double bass, bass guitar *

Peter Erskine Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the dru ...

– drums * Ramon Lopez – percussion

References

External links

Review at AllMusic
{{Authority control 1973 albums Stan Kenton albums Instrumental albums GNP Crescendo Records albums Albums produced by Bob Curnow