Artistry in Progressive Jazz (1998)

About this title: While many radio broadcasts from the big-band era are redundant exercises in nostalgia, this one -- a compilation from three different locales -- is defiantly, pungently out of that class. It covers a period where Kenton's ensembles were stretching the boundaries of where big bands were allowed to go, beginning in 1946 at the Meadowbrook Gardens in Culver City, CA. The set then skips to the Hotel Commodore in New York City circa fall 1947, when Kenton became the first major jazz bandleader to jump headfirst into Afro-Cuban rhythms (weeks ahead of Dizzy Gillespie), and concludes with excerpts ... read more

Tracks:

1. Artistry in Progressive Jazz [Wetzel]
2. Artistry In Boogie [Rugolo/Kenton]
3. Reed Rapture [Kenton]
4. Lover Man [Davis/Ramirez/Sherm]
5. Scotch and Water [Roland]
6. Concerto to End All Concertos, Pt. 1 [Kenton]
7. Concerto to End All Concertos, Pt. 2 [Kenton]
8. Opus In Pastels [Kenton]
9. Rhythm Incorporated, Pt. 1 [Rugolo/Kenton]
10. Rhythm Incorporated, Pt. 2 [Rugolo/Kenton]
11. Across the Alley from the Alamo [Greene]
12. Collaboration [Rugolo/Kenton]
13. Minor Riff [Rugolo/Kenton]
14. Machito [Rugolo]
15. Lover [Rodgers/Hart]
16. Unison Riff [Rugolo]
17. Lament [Rugolo]
18. I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out [Carter/Ellis/Frigo]
19. Cuban Carnival [Rugolo]
20. The Peanut Vendor [Simons/Gilbert/Suns]
21. Metronome Riff [Rugolo]
22. How High the Moon [Hamilton/Lewis]
23. Interlude [Rugolo/Russell]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.