Adventures in Time

from the creative world of
STAN KENTON
comes…
ADVENTURES IN TIME

A CHALLENGING EXPLORATION OF UNUSUAL TIME SIGNATURES…HERE ARE MASSIVE ORCHESTRAL SOUNDS AND RICHLY INVENTIVE SOLOS IN A NEW JOHNNY RICHARDS CONCERTO FOR THE KENTON ORCHESTRA, INSPIRED BY AGE-OLD LEGENDS OF TIME AND SPACE AND THE GODS OF THE UNIVERSE.

Since long before Stan Kenton undertook his present "Adventures in" series of albums, from the earliest Kenton days in fact, Stan's music has always been characterized by trailblazing adventurousness and creativity. A Kenton history is a history of modern musical research, innovation and discovery, and it is studded with the names of brilliant creative talents who have joined him, learned from him, and made their own striking new contributions to music along the way.

In this album Stan introduces a sinewy new work for orchestra commissioned from a longtime associate, distinguished jazz composer-arranger Johnny Richards. "Adventures in Time, a Concerto for Orchestra" is a synthesis of eight original compositions by Richards that utilize the full resources of the Kenton musical organization. With this work Richards once again demonstrates his flair for creating exciting and ingeniously constructed rhythm patterns—the same great gift that helped make "Kenton's West Side Story" a sensational bestseller and winner of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences award in 1962. Here he employs unusual time signatures in a startling work that forcefully reaffirms the towering importance of the Kenton Orchestra as a seeker of new and challenging musical horizons.

SIDE ONE
COMMENCEMENT, the driving, exhilarating opening of the Concerto, is a martial composition in alla breve time. Huge blocks of sound encompass the listener, as the Orchestra pits brass-sectional figures against reeds and tympani. Time signatures of each of the following sections of the Concerto are fleetingly introduced, and the work's primary musical themes are heard.

QUINTILE, named for that phase when the planets are one-fifth of a circle apart, is measured in 5 / 4 time. It showcases the haunting, searching sound of the Kenton trombone section. The powerful ensemble work is fronted by muscular trombone solos by Bob Fitzpatrick and Bud Parker. Allan Beutler's baritone sax adds a story of its own, and trumpeter Marvin Stamm plays fluid figurations over a frontline guard of four trombones.

ARTEMIS, in 3/4 time, opens with Stan Kenton's piano stating a lyrically romantic theme dedicated to the goddess of the moon. The Artemis theme is then picked up by the trombones, horns vie for supremacy and Marv Stamm's solo trumpet is heard. After a brief ensemble passage, Gabe Baltazar's note-lashing alto speaks out determinedly against the urgency of the horn-dominated brass sections.

3 x 3 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 72 is based on the mystic symbol for the moon (3 x 3), and the sun (2 x 2 x 2), which in turn signify the 9/8 time signature. This musical equation commences with the Kenton piano, which again has the initial statement. Richards’ use of the canon form makes for some impressive musical architecture as section builds upon section. Don Menza's full-throated tenor ad libs against subtle underscoring, and Ray Starling's mellophonium solo leads the way to a thrilling orchestral resolution.

SIDE TWO
MARCH TO POLARIS, the North Star, in 6/8 time. Trombones and trumpets alternately state the theme, and then countermelody builds upon countermelody. There's some exciting solo work by Gabe Baltazar on alto and Don Menza on tenor, and the trumpet section whips the theme back into a gentler understatement by saxes and brass.

SEPTUOR FROM ANTARES, a fiery 7/4 episode suggested by Antares, flame-red star in the constellation Scorpio. Steve Dweck's percussion marks the time in a brass-dominated sequence. Marv Stamm's trumpet rides in over the ensemble to carry the piece to a dazzling, sparks-filled climax.

ARTEMIS AND APOLLO, a restatement in 4/4 time of the Artemis theme from Side One, is a tribute to the moon goddess and her twin brother Apollo, god of music, poetry and medicine, and god of the sun. The Kenton piano traces a line over the horn-constructed melody, and there are evocative contributions by Marv Stamm and Ray Starling. The latter, in one of the loveliest mellophonium solos on record, persuasively illustrates why Kenton felt compelled to add a complete mellophonium section to his orchestra.

APERÇU Just as Commencement was the initial statement of the entire score, Aperçu is the recapitulation. Beginning in 6/8 time, it undergoes a thrilling succession of time changes. Marc Stamm has a glittering solo, Gabe Baltazar recreates the Artemis theme, the horns restate the March to Polaris theme and, after a full orchestral tutti, the trumpets fan out in 7/4 time. There's a triumphal conclusion by the full orchestra which carries everyone out in 3/4.

Leonard G Feather. "Record Review. Adventures in Time." Down Beat. 23 May 1963. 24.
Pete Welding. "Record Review. Adventures in Time." Down Beat. 23 May 1963. 25.

DOUBLE VIEW: STAN KENTON

ADVENTURES IN TIME—Capitol 1844; Commencement; Quintile; Artemis; 3x3x2x2x2=72; March to Polaris; Septum from Antares; Artemis and Apollo; Apercu.

PersonneI: Dalton Smith, Gary Slavo, Bob Behrendt, Marv Stamm, Keith LaMoue, trumpets; Bob Fitzpatrick, Newell Parker, Tom Ringo, Jim Amlote, trombones; Ray Starling, Dwight Carver, Joe Burnett, Lou Gasca, mellophoniums; Dave Wheeler, tuba ; Gabe Baltazar, Don Menza, Ray Florian, Allan Beutler, Joel Kaye, saxophones; Kenton, piano; Bucky Calabrese, bass; Dee Barton, drums; Steve Dweck, percussion.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ½

Following the initiatives of Max Roach, Dave Brubeck, et al, Johnny Richards has jumped on the odd-time-signature bandwagon with an ambitious eight-part concerto or orchestra. As is invariably the case with Richards, the writing is brilliant. the voicing skillful, and the craftsmanship impeccable.

Thematically, the work at times is strangely reminiscent of early Kenton of the Rugolo and even pre-Rugolo eras. The orchestration, too, has some of the fulminous quality often associated with this band in its definitive years. The main difference , of course , lies in the instrumentation. A 14-piece brass section is a mighty load for any band to carry.

The band, in fact, seems to have been operating in recent years somewhat like a limbo dancer. Just as the dancer has to wiggle through under a pole placed ever lower, so the Kenton orchestra has to swing under conditions gradually proscribed by bigger sounds, more complex charts, and now awkward time signatures.

I find it very hard to believe that 7/4, for instance, is a natural, logical, or desirable meter for jazz. Like any time signature, it can be used effectively for occasional contrast, but between the 7/4 and 5/4 and 3/4 and 6/8 passages here, it becomes difficult at times to tell where “1” is.

Similarly, one cannot get a clear picture of the solo talent; soon after an individual begins to take over, he is swallowed by walls of trumpets and mellophoniums and trombones and saxophones. Nevertheless, there are a couple of admirable passages by Gabe Baltazar's alto, and some attractive work by mellophoniumist Ray Starling on 3x3x2x2x2. The soloist who stands out best is Kenton himself. His brooding, full-chorded style is well showcased in Artemis, a pretty theme that achieves at times a vaguely Claude Thornhillish mood.

By and large, of course, this being a concerto for orchestra, section and ensemble sounds dominate; to quote the liner notes, "huge blocks of sound encompass the listener…” and “Baltazar's note-lashing alto speaks out determinedly against the urgency of the horn-dominated brass section…” Against these odds, however Baltazar has to withdraw.

Despite the noted gravity problems, this is one of the Kenton band’s more intriguing albums, as one can usually expect when Richards’ pen is involved. For those mainly concerned with swinging and with blowing, this may be a 2½- to 3-star set; for students of orchestration and mass-scale experimentation, it deserves at least four; hence a compromise rating. (L.G.F.)

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ADVENTURES IN TIME — Capitol 1844.
Rating : no rating

Kenton and composer Johnny Richards ought to receive credit for the year's most novel LP idea: a do-it-yourself movie scenario kit. Just put this disc on the turntable, sit back, and work up your own movie plot. All during this “concerto,” for example, I was envisioning this rocket ship forced off its course by a strong gravitational pull and made to land on an eerie, desolate, uncharted planet. The crew members, exploring the chilling, alien landscape, are surprised and taken prisoners by a band of androids who are armed with rayguns and taken to the court of the statuesque Amazonian chick who rules the planet. She, of course, is dressed in this gold lame toga and wears a metallic head-dress emblazoned with some sort of cabalistic design. She's got eyes for the rocket ship, captain, and…you take it.

The Kenton band executes with considerable expertise the faintly exotic material Richards has concocted, but in the main it seems just so much misspent energy for all concerned. Other than as an exercise in different time signatures (5/4, 9/8, 7/4, etc.), there would appear to be neither rhyme nor reason for this extended “suite.” The charts are pointless, flatulent, ponderous melanges of effects that serve no purpose and no apparent musical ends.

It's all bluff and bravado—Kenton at his most pretentiously trying. (P.W.)

Steve Race. "Record Review. Adventures in Time." Crescendo. November 1963. 5.

Build-up
“From the Creative World of Stan Kenton comes Adventures in Time”…So says the label on Stan’s new Capitol release. The sub-title goes on “A challenging exploration of the unusual time-signatures…Here are massive orchestral sounds and richly inventive solos in a new Johnny Richards concerto for the Kenton Orchestra, inspired by age-old legends of time and space and the gods of the universe.”

Who but the matchless Stan Kenton could stand up to that kind of a build-up? The 22 members of the band are virtually unknown in this country, and even Johnny Richards is hardly a top-seller. But Kenton’s name is a guarantee that the music will be stirring and (in the best sense) Important.

As a matter of fact, Importance is the key word here. Johnny Richards’ suite—and it is a suite rather than a concerto—has the power of a real musical intellect behind it, making inevitable comparison with the revival of old scores which Bill Russo chose for his recent LP.

Kenton’s cosmic choice of subject is fully justified by the music: almost throughout the listener has that feeling of grandeur and magnificence which—dare one say it?—pervades the great Beethoven symphonies.

This is not to compare Richards with Beethoven. But in the process of growing to full maturity, jazz has lacked most of all the feeling of occasion which stems from a master’s control over time and space.

There is no confusion here between space-defiance and mere longwindedness: Richards has something important to say, and he requires two sides of an LP in which to say it. He is magnificently served by the Kenton Orchestra, and though one notes with an affectionate smile that Kenton himself is still a bit of a sentimental old Olwen whenever he’s at the keyboard, nevertheless his direction, his essential artistic virility, are apparent in every blazing bar.

With this one LP concert jazz becomes at last important in the world of art.