A Stan Kenton Christmas

The Capitol Bones Big Band

Directed by Mark Taylor

As a young trombone player I distinctly remember my dad bringing home an album in 1961 titled "A Merry Christmas" from the Creative World of Stan Kenton. I was knocked out by the great sound of 14 brass players playing these great charts by Stan and Ralph Carmichael.

When Matt Niess called asking if I would come and conduct a recording session of The Capitol Bones Big Band playing this great music I jumped at the chance. I must mention that we featured charts from guys in the band like Matt, Jim Roberts, Tony Nalker and myself. This CD features the music from the Kenton Christmas plus these new charts.

"A Stan Kenton Christmas" is in no way a re-creation of the original record but is directly inspired by that great album. Check out the great soloists and the wonderful trombone section. Many thanks to my favorite engineer and friend Bob Dawson for his big ears and expertise and producers Matt Niess and Jay Gibble. I can't tell you how proud I am to have been a part of this CD. Stan would have dug it for sure!

- Mark Taylor

Congratulations to The Capitol Bones Big Band. "A Stan Kenton Christmas" is a great album. The brilliance is dazzling and the precision is unsurpassed. What we did in the 60's was a bridge to what I hear on this CD and I'm grateful to have been a bridge builder. I guarantee Stan would be proud!

- Ralph Carmichael

When I first heard the "Kenton Christmas Carols" years ago, I was amazed at how "hip" carols could sound. Ralph Carmichael's and Stan's arrangements are every bit as fresh and exciting today as they were forty years ago when they were first recorded by the Stan Kenton Orchestra at Capitol Records.

This re-recording of that material, plus six new charts of Christmas music, is a masterful performance! The writing, the playing, the recording... everything about this CD is amazing and wonderful to hear! I congratulate the superb musicians who made this CD what it is, a perfect fit for the season for those who have waited for years to hear this music recorded, performed and, in a real way, preserved, as it should be, for generations to come.

- Bob Curnow

Ralph Carmichael's arrangements of traditional Christmas music retain their status as jazz classics, although they were considered somewhat controversial when Stan Kenton recorded them for Capitol Records in 1961. This time the carols are in the capable hands of Conductor Mark Taylor, long a friend and student of Kentonia, who has presented all-Kenton concerts over the years. Two of Mark's original compositions, "Granada Smoothie" and "Samba de Haps" were recorded and published by the Kenton organization.

In contrast to Carmichael's long-lasting arrangements, The Capitol Bones Big Band offers three timely new works by trombonist Matt Niess -- "My Favorite Things", "Greensleeves" and "Big Bad Drummin' Dude", the latter based on "Little Drummer Boy". The soloists are exceptionally skillful, the arrangements, irresistible.

Stan always said, off the record, that his favorite instrument was the trombone. This was frequently evident in the music he chose to record, and in his development and experimental work with those troublesome, hard-to-tune mellophones. He would have been delighted with The Capitol Bones Big Band.

- Audree Coke Kenton