A cool collection of Capitol material from Stan Kenton – mostly sides from his classic years of the early 50s! The work here shows a lively, more upbeat side of Kenton's music – one that still has some modern moments, but which is more in a west coast big band style overall. All tracks are from the years 1950 to 1952 – recorded after the financial failure of Stan's Innovations orchestra, and before his New Concepts group – all sessions that were supposedly "commercial" in nature, to help Kenton recoup some losses – but which still represent the forefront of jazz on the west coast at the time! Arrangers include Shorty Rogers,
Pete Rugolo, Gene Roland, Bill Russo, and Johnny Richards – and soloists include Art Pepper on alto, Bud Shank on reeds, Bob Cooper on tenor, and Conte Candoli on trumpet. 20 tracks in all – including "Riff Raff", "Dynaflow", "Easy Go", "Viva Prado", "Francesca", "Soliloquy", "Lazy Daisy", "Beehive", "Cool Eyes", "Bill's Blues", "Night Watch", and "Jump For Joe".
(Out of print, mark through barcode and promotional stamp on CD.)