The Stan Kenton Orchestra

The Stan Kenton Orchestra: Odyssey 1951-68

by Jack Bowers
December 1, 2000

The Kenton Orchestra’s Odyssey, comprising previously unreleased concert dates from 1951–68, was assembled from various sources (audio tapes) by John Loeffler’s superb Astral Jazz label, which already has given Kenton partisans the orchestra’s definitive in–person recording, the magnificent Live at Keesler Air Force Base, 1958, and at least three other superlative concerts by the unrivaled Kenton ensemble. If Odyssey doesn’t quite parallel Keesler, it comes so close that scarcely anyone who admires Kenton’s super–charged modus operandi will be in the ...