Even so, there was much genuine achievement, including a series of Carnegie Hall concerts and, in 1951, what this writer would argue was Ellington’s single greatest composition, “A Tone Parallel to Harlem.”Īfter its 1956 triumph at the Newport Jazz Festival, the Duke Ellington band enjoyed renewed prestige and a creative burst that lasted until the death of Billy Strayhorn in 1967. Personnel shifted, too: longtime drummer Sonny Greer left in 1951 and was replaced by Louis Bellson, and Johnny Hodges was absent from 1951 to ’55. But what happened to the giants of’ the swing era? For both Duke Ellington and Count Basie, some years had to pass before they would be taken seriously again.ĭuke Ellington went through a long period of transition (1945-55) when the big band was taken for granted and regarded by some as a bit old-fashioned. Those are just a few of the new big bands that sprang up right after the big band era supposedly came to a close. In general, Kenton was a shrewd judge of talent in both players (Art Pepper, Shelly Manne, Maynard Ferguson, Frank Rosolino, Lee Konitz, Zoot Sims, Mel Lewis) and writers (Pete Rugolo, Shorty Rogers, Graettinger, Gerry Mulligan, Bill Russo, Bill Holman), and was generous in his support.ĭuke Ellington, Count Basie, and other swing era greats For example, Bob Graettinger’s “City of Glass,” recorded in 1951 by the “innovations” edition that included French horns and a large string section, remains even today a startling listening experience. But it was not uncommon at the time for listeners to also hate the Kenton big band.Īt any given period, though, the Kenton ensembles played much that was praiseworthy and, in some cases, genuinely original. They were phenomenally popular, due in part to Kenton’s considerable flair for public relations and the strong support of Capitol Records. The “progressive” sound of the Stan Kenton big band was a prime example. Some say he sounded best with a full bandstand behind him.īut leading a big band in the late forties and early fifties wasn’t simply a matter of success or failure-some bands generated serious controversy and strong emotions over the music they played. Dizzy continued to record and tour sporadically with large groups for the rest of his life, including two State Department tours in 19 with a big band that included Lee Morgan, Phil Woods, Benny Golson and Wynton Kelly. He kept it together for four years, thanks in part to his flamboyant personality and the fact that he was at the height of his playing powers. After an abortive beginning in 1945, a new group formed in 1946 gave voice to such innovative writers as Gil Fuller, Tadd Dameron, George Russell and John Lewis, and succeeded in transferring some of Gillespie’s and Charlie Parker’s innovations to a large ensemble. Gillespie’s own big band experiments fared somewhat better. ![]() Despite the big band’s talent, the music was just too strange for its time. And he gave free rein to his advanced arrangers: Eddie Finckel, Johnny Richards, and most importantly, George Handy. During his big band’s heyday (1944-48), Raeburn employed many of the finest jazz musicians of the time, including Dizzy Gillespie, Al Cohn, Lucky Thompson, Serge Chaloff, Frank Socolow, Johnny Mandel and Buddy DeFraneo. Writers, arrangers and big band-leaders were developing artistic goals that took them beyond the usual bounds of popular music.Ī pioneer of the immediate postwar period was Boyd Raeburn, a marginal saxophonist and former commercial dance band leader. ![]() The result was less and less work for dance-oriented bands. Then came the postwar recession, a 20 percent tax on “entertainment” (big band music for dancing or that included singers), and the advent of television as a major source of amusement. ![]() ![]() Also during the war years, the ban on recording ordered by the musicians union in its fight for royalties from radio airplay kept a lot of people out of work until the issue was resolved. World War II forced musicians into the armed services, and gas rationing made it tough for surviving big bands to tour. Jazz, whether it was played by a small or big band, was becoming a music for listeners, serious and otherwise. The best postwar bands functioned as concert ensembles that also played for dancing. Virtually every big band of the swing era functioned first and foremost as a dance band.
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