Jazz festival celebrates Stan Kenton's legacy

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By Joseph Rothstein
Special to The Advertiser

Big-band leader Stan Kenton assembled one of the most popular jazz ensembles of the 1940s into the early 1970s. But his biggest contribution to jazz history may have been the many fine young players Kenton nurtured on his bandstand at the start of their careers. Some of them, like Hawai'i's alto saxophonist Gabe Baltazar, went on to become fixtures on the international jazz scene.

Clockwise, from top left: Bill Mays, Bud Shank and Carmen Bradford are among those performing in the jazz festival's Stan Kenton tribute concerts. Some of the festival performers are also holding musicians' workshops.

Childers joined the Kenton band at age 17 in 1953 and played with the ensemble intermittently through 1954. "The music was constantly evolving," Childers recalled. "Not just us, all the bands at that time — Ellington, Basie, Woody Herman, you name it. But we went in a unique direction, almost like experimental classical music."

Kenton and his musicians all learned from one another, according to Childers. "Stan was always open to new ideas," he said. "We'd try playing something in a certain way, and it would end up in the arrangement."

When the band played dances, they played in the swing style popular at the time. In addition, Kenton's band was one of the first to play jazz in a concert setting. For Eddie Bert, it was a new way of playing. "When we rehearsed for concerts, Stan would yell at us, 'Stop swinging!' But we could swing with the best of them, when we wanted to," said Bert.

Kenton's goal was to bring the music a respect that it had never had, as a true art form on a par with classical music. For Slyde Hyde, that's the true musical legacy of the Kenton Band. "No doubt about it, that wall of sound made people sit up and take notice," Hyde said. "That symphonic sound that we take for granted in jazz today, that was Stan's innovation."

Kenton had a reputation for spotting talented young musicians and bringing them along. Asked what he learned from his years with Kenton, Childers was quick to answer. "Everything," he said emphatically. "I was a sponge and everything I soaked up stays with me to this day."

Childers plans to share some of those lessons with young players during the clinics that are a major part of the Hawai'i jazz festival. "I don't try to dazzle the kids," he said. "I try to tell them and especially to show them how to think about jazz and how to build a sound for themselves."

Hyde joined the Kenton band in 1959, at the same time as Gabe Baltazar. "I was still developing as a musician when I joined the band," Hyde recalled from Hawi on the Big Island, where he now makes his home. "He was uncanny. He knew just what you were feeling all the time and he used that to convince you that you could do it, even when you didn't think you could."

Hyde shares those lessons with other up-and-coming musicians through clinics and demonstrations. In addition to participating in clinics during the jazz festival, Hyde is active on the Big Island, organizing the Honoka'a Jazz Festival and working with students at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo and in Honoka'a. "Kenton stressed the idea of a big sound, and that's one of the things I try and help the kids with, to play strong and project," he said.

Passing on the teaching seems to have become a mission for many of the Kenton band alumni. After leaving the Kenton band, Bud Shank enjoyed success on television, in recording studios and as a member of the all-star band the L.A. Four. Yet perhaps he gets most excited talking about the eight-day clinics he does each July in his hometown Seattle area.

According to Shank, Stan Kenton was "one of the greatest teachers who ever lived. That's really what his contribution was, helping guys come out of their shells and learn what they were capable of doing." It's something Shank plans to share during his clinics in Hawai'i.

At his day job, composer Joseph Rothstein is a financial adviser. The Honolulu Advertiser is a sponsor of the jazz festival.

Hawai'i International Jazz Festival Tribute to Stan Kenton, Part 1

• 7 p.m. today
• Blaisdell Concert Hall

Tribute to Stan Kenton, Part 2

• 7 p.m. Saturday
• Blaisdell Concert Hall

Parade of Big Bands
(and Lifetime Achievement Award to Gabe Baltazar)

• 4 p.m. Sunday
• McKinley High School auditorium
• $40, $35, $20 each concert (discounts for seniors, military, students, Foodland Maika'i members)
• 591-2211, 526-4400