Jazz Articles about Lennie Niehaus

Stan Kenton: Salute!

by Jack Bowers
February 16, 2023

Stan Kenton, one of the most renowned and influential bandleaders of the twentieth century, died on August 25, 1979. Fortunately—for the sake of history in general and creative music in particular—Kenton's remarkable legacy lives on, and in a perceptive and open-minded world would endure forever. Even to this day, small but devoted groups of enthusiasts share a wish that some previously hidden array of his material might come to light, satisfiying for the moment their craving for more memorable music ...

Stan Kenton and His Orchestra: Concert on the Pacific

by Jack Bowers
August 14, 2021

The Stan Kenton Orchestra's Concert on the Pacific is actually a compendium of several concerts recorded between January and March 1958 at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California—a series that almost emptied Kenton's wallet and caused him to pause and regroup a year or so later. While this was post-Rosolino/Sims/Konitz/Levey, the Kenton Orchestra was never without its share of outstanding soloists, in this case saxophonists Lennie Niehaus, Bill Perkins, Richie Kamuca and Bill Robinson; trumpeters Sam Noto, Billy Catalano and ...

Stan Kenton and His Orchestra: In a Lighter Vein

by Jack Bowers
December 13, 2020

Stan Kenton was a man of many moods, as was his intrepid and popular orchestra, which endured until his passing in August 1979 and whose renown is kept alive even today by the Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra. Kenton dons his carefree hat on In a Lighter Vein, an assortment of straight-ahead themes from the orchestra's jazz library, preserved in five concert performances from 1953-55 beneath the umbrella of NBC radio's All Star Parade of Bands. Original compositions ...

Lennie Niehaus: Volume 5: The Sextet

by Craig Jolley
February 1, 2002

Lennie Niehaus is best known these days for his Hollywood film scores. He came up on the 1950's California scene and joined the Kenton band, replacing Lee Konitz as the primary alto soloist. After establishing himself as a player he began writing for the band as well. Simultaneously he led a series of fondly-remembered small band (5 to 8 pieces) recordings with other Kenton band members of the era.

These recordings were built around Niehaus' writing. His style was typical ...

Lennie Niehaus: Vol. 5: The Sextet

by AAJ Staff
January 1, 2002

The West Coast scene of the fifties produced few big names and ever fewer classic albums, but nevertheless provided fertile soil for some of the most stylish and consistent music in the history of jazz. For the most part, the artists working in the sunny climes of California were content to work within the established boundaries rather than extending them, keeping the art of arranging and sticking close to the melody vital at a time when most players were itching ...

Lennie Niehaus: Vol. 1: The Quintets

by David Rickert
February 1, 2001

Cool jazz has always represented the tweed jacket and horn-rimmed glasses approach to the music and has often been criticized for stealing jazz away from smoky bars to college lecture halls and living room hifis. A style that could only have been conceived during the optimistic bliss of the Eisenhower administration and the warm breezes of California, cool jazz was doomed to be overrun by the turbulent 60s and the angry, socially conscious music that was its byproduct. Indeed, cool ...