Stan Kenton is one of the great names in jazz. In a world of improvisers he was known as a composer, arranger and bandleader (although his piano skills were impressive - he studied with the masterful Earl Hines.) He started his career playing piano in bands, but in 1941 decided the only way he'd get to hear his music the way he wanted it would be to start his own band. He moved to a cabin in the San Jacinto Mountains for a while and there wrote the compositions and arrangements that would ultimately form the core of the new band's sound and repertoire.

His bands looked like big bands (he preferred to call them "orchestras"), but they didn't sound like any other big bands, and no one calls his music "big band" these days - it's always "jazz". His music always pushed the boundaries, and he kept his orchestras on the road way past the time when other band leaders had read the writing on the wall and scaled back or packed it in.

Kenton was also very active in schools, encouraging young musicians through workshops and mentoring programs involving both himself and members of his orchestras. He was active right up until his death in 1979 at age 67.

Each year for the past 10 years, Ed Bride, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has presented a Stan Kenton Tribute on Albany, NY public radio station WAMC. This year's tribute is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1 from 8 - 10 PM Eastern time, on WAMC and www.wamc.org. Ed knows more about Stan Kenton than the next three Kenton fans combined, and his tributes are always a treat. This year's program includes an interview with the great Dan Morganstern (formerly of downbeat and Metronome, and currently the director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers) as well as lots of great music.

Tom Heany