~
Side 2:
B1 - Quien Sabe (Who Knows)
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Flugelhorn – Vinnie Tanno
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Lucky Thompson
Soloist, Trombone – Carl Fontana
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Flugelhorn – Vinnie Tanno
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Lucky Thompson
Soloist, Trombone – Carl Fontana - 4:46
B2 - La Guera Baila (The Fair One Dances)
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Trumpet – Vinnie Tanno
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Trumpet – Vinnie Tanno - 5:06
B3 - La Suerte De Los Tontos (Fortunes Of Fools)
Soloist, Bongos – Willie Rodriguez
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Bill Perkins
Soloist, Trombone – Bob Fitzpatrick
Soloist, Trumpet – Sam Noto
Soloist, Bongos – Willie Rodriguez
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Bill Perkins
Soloist, Trombone – Bob Fitzpatrick
Soloist, Trumpet – Sam Noto - 4:16
Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Capitol Records, Inc.
Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Scranton
Credits:
Artwork – Nory*
Bass – Curtis Counce
Bongos – Willie Rodriguez
Claves – Roger Mozian
Congas – Tommy Lopez
Drums – Mel Lewis
Flugelhorn – Vinnie Tanno (tracks: B1)
French Horn – Irving Rosenthal, Julius Watkins
Guitar – Ralph Blaze
Liner Notes – Bill Coss
Maracas – Mario Alvarez
Orchestra – Stan Kenton And His Orchestra
Piano, Conductor – Stan Kenton
Saxophone – Bill Perkins, Bill Root*, Lennie Niehaus, Lucky Thompson
Timbales – George Laguna
Timpani – George Gaber (tracks: B2, B3), Saul Gubin* (tracks: A1, A2, A3, B1)
Trombone – Bob Fitzpatrick, Carl Fontana, Don Kelly, Kent Larson*
Trumpet – Al Mattaliano, Ed Leddy, Lee Katzman, Phil Gilbert, Sam Noto, Vinnie Tanno
Tuba – Jim McAllister*
Written-By Johnny Richards
Notes:
US release similar to Cuban Fire!, but with different information shown on the lower perimeter of labels.
Recorded in New York City
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Side A label): T1-731
Matrix / Runout (Side B label): T2-731
Matrix / Runout (Side A, stamped): - T1-731-D4 [anvil logo]
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, December 15, 2021
vinyl LP front cover
Artwork by Nory
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Today is the birthday of pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, Stan Kenton, who was born a hundred and ten years ago on December 15, 1911, in Wichita, Kansas, home of Dorothy and Toto.
Kenton led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra
for almost four decades. Though he had several pop hits from the
early 1940s into the 1960s, his music was always forward-looking. He
was also a pioneer in the field of jazz education, creating the Stan Kenton Jazz Camp in 1959 at Indiana University. During the early forties, with very little money, he traveled to speakeasys in San Diego and Las Vegas playing piano. He played with Russ Plummer, Hal Grayson and eventually got a big break with the Gus Arnheim orchestra that had also worked with Fred MacMurray (he started out as a sax player), Russ Columbo, Buddy Clark, Eddie Cantor and Joan Crawford.
Gus Arnheim orchestra - 1932
In 1940, Kenton formed his first orchestra. His first appearance in New York was in February 1942 at the Roseland Ballroom, with the marquee featuring an endorsement by Fred Astaire. By late 1943, with a contract with the newly formed Capitol Records,
he had a popular record, Eager Beaver, and had growing recognition. The group developed into one of the
best-known West Coast ensembles of the 1940s. Its soloists during the
war years included alto saxophonist Art Pepper,
When Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III, on April 19, 1956, Kenton wrote the ballet, Homage To The Princess, for the celebration ceremonies (link below).
Cuban Fire! starts out with Fuego Cubano (Cuban Fire) that is like a blast of sound that could have been the inspiration for the Leonard Bernstein musical, West Side Story
which premiered the following year in 1957, but probably not. The song
itself calms down after a minute or so and develops a mellow cha-cha complete with bongos played by Willie Rodriguez. With one exception, bongos are used in all the cuts; they are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They were popular in the mid-fifties and hit it BIG time in the sixties (I Love Lucy, Mission Imposible, The Avengers, Hawaii Five-0, etc.). Rodriguez also played on several songs recorded by Harry Belafonte.
Malibu Moonlight is the bongos exception; it is a quiet reverie with bass, piano and lots of brass Kenton's signature. The song is dreamy and a nice breather from the jazzy, upbeat tempo of the rest of the album.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Side 1:
A1 - Fuego Cubano (Cuban Fire)
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Lucky Thompson
Soloist, Trombone – Kent Larsen
Soloist, Trumpet [Muted] – Vinnie Tanno
Trombone – Carl Fontana
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Lucky Thompson
Soloist, Trombone – Kent Larsen
Soloist, Trumpet [Muted] – Vinnie Tanno
Trombone – Carl Fontana - 5:59
A2 - El Congo Valiente (Valiant Congo)
Percussion [Latin Rhythm Leade], Bongos – Willie Rodriguez
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Bill Perkins
Soloist, Trombone – Kent Larsen
Soloist, Trumpet – Vinnie Tanno
Percussion [Latin Rhythm Leade], Bongos – Willie Rodriguez
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Bill Perkins
Soloist, Trombone – Kent Larsen
Soloist, Trumpet – Vinnie Tanno - 5:49
A3 - Recuerdos (Reminiscences)
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Piano – Stan Kenton
Soloist, Trombone – Carl Fontana
Soloist, Trumpet – Sam Noto
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Piano – Stan Kenton
Soloist, Trombone – Carl Fontana
Soloist, Trumpet – Sam Noto - 4:58
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Lucky Thompson
Soloist, Trombone – Kent Larsen
Soloist, Trumpet [Muted] – Vinnie Tanno
Trombone – Carl Fontana
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Lucky Thompson
Soloist, Trombone – Kent Larsen
Soloist, Trumpet [Muted] – Vinnie Tanno
Trombone – Carl Fontana - 5:59
A2 - El Congo Valiente (Valiant Congo)
Percussion [Latin Rhythm Leade], Bongos – Willie Rodriguez
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Bill Perkins
Soloist, Trombone – Kent Larsen
Soloist, Trumpet – Vinnie Tanno
Percussion [Latin Rhythm Leade], Bongos – Willie Rodriguez
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Bill Perkins
Soloist, Trombone – Kent Larsen
Soloist, Trumpet – Vinnie Tanno - 5:49
A3 - Recuerdos (Reminiscences)
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Piano – Stan Kenton
Soloist, Trombone – Carl Fontana
Soloist, Trumpet – Sam Noto
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Piano – Stan Kenton
Soloist, Trombone – Carl Fontana
Soloist, Trumpet – Sam Noto - 4:58
Side 2:
B1 - Quien Sabe (Who Knows)
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Flugelhorn – Vinnie Tanno
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Lucky Thompson
Soloist, Trombone – Carl Fontana
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Flugelhorn – Vinnie Tanno
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Lucky Thompson
Soloist, Trombone – Carl Fontana - 4:46
B2 - La Guera Baila (The Fair One Dances)
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Trumpet – Vinnie Tanno
Soloist, Alto Saxophone – Lennie Niehaus
Soloist, Trumpet – Vinnie Tanno - 5:06
B3 - La Suerte De Los Tontos (Fortunes Of Fools)
Soloist, Bongos – Willie Rodriguez
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Bill Perkins
Soloist, Trombone – Bob Fitzpatrick
Soloist, Trumpet – Sam Noto
Soloist, Bongos – Willie Rodriguez
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone – Bill Perkins
Soloist, Trombone – Bob Fitzpatrick
Soloist, Trumpet – Sam Noto - 4:16
Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Capitol Records, Inc.
Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Scranton
Credits:
Artwork – Nory*
Bass – Curtis Counce
Bongos – Willie Rodriguez
Claves – Roger Mozian
Congas – Tommy Lopez
Drums – Mel Lewis
Flugelhorn – Vinnie Tanno (tracks: B1)
French Horn – Irving Rosenthal, Julius Watkins
Guitar – Ralph Blaze
Liner Notes – Bill Coss
Maracas – Mario Alvarez
Orchestra – Stan Kenton And His Orchestra
Piano, Conductor – Stan Kenton
Saxophone – Bill Perkins, Bill Root*, Lennie Niehaus, Lucky Thompson
Timbales – George Laguna
Timpani – George Gaber (tracks: B2, B3), Saul Gubin* (tracks: A1, A2, A3, B1)
Trombone – Bob Fitzpatrick, Carl Fontana, Don Kelly, Kent Larson*
Trumpet – Al Mattaliano, Ed Leddy, Lee Katzman, Phil Gilbert, Sam Noto, Vinnie Tanno
Tuba – Jim McAllister*
Written-By Johnny Richards
Notes:
US release similar to Cuban Fire!, but with different information shown on the lower perimeter of labels.
Recorded in New York City
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Side A label): T1-731
Matrix / Runout (Side B label): T2-731
Matrix / Runout (Side A, stamped): - T1-731-D4 [anvil logo]
Stan Kenton – Cuban Fire!
Label: Capitol Records – T 731, Capitol Records – T-731
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1956
Genre: Jazz, Latin
Style: Latin Jazz, Guajira, Guaracha
Label: Capitol Records – T 731, Capitol Records – T-731
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1956
Genre: Jazz, Latin
Style: Latin Jazz, Guajira, Guaracha
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