Ensemble

This is a rich, warm chart as arranged by Stan. It features the lush Kenton trombone sound and gorgeous full ensembles. Stan used this as an opener for years. As recorded on the Romantic Approach LP....

One of the loveliest ballads ever recorded by the Kenton Band. Recorded on the Stan Kenton Plays Chicago CD. This is one of 2 original pieces by Bob Curnow from this album. This Kenton arrangement is...

This is another of the many wonderful charts arranged by Niehaus for the Stan Kenton Orchestra. A more beautiful ballad has not been written, and this one features a trombone and a tenor sax solo. As...

Arranged by Holman for Carl Fontana with the Stan Kenton Orchestra in the mid 50's. This chart is wonderful in its simplicity and melodic content. A striking melody and an exquisite arrangement. Solo...

As recorded by the Stan Kenton Orchestra on Stage Door Swings, this is a lovely ballad scored in the incomparable Kenton style. Niehaus uses the saxophone section to great effect. Limited ranges make...

This is the bass trombone solo, as recorded (The Kenton Era) by George Roberts with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Folks have been waiting for this one for a long time. Johnny Richards sets this wonderful...

As recorded on 'Standards in Silhouette'

One of those mystery charts that hardly anyone knows about, this chart is a beauty. Mulligan was a master at creating moods and using wonderful chord substitutions, as he did in this medium ballad. Th...

As recorded by the Stan Kenton Orchestra and Jean Turner

The Kenton Band had many hits over the years, and a couple of them involved the whole band singing. This was one of those charts. Now, if your band isn't into singing (maybe they should be), then this...

Stan had a very definite style of arranging which, of course, was the basis of most of the music for his early bands. This chart is very simple but extremely effective. It begins with quiet trombones...

This great Kenton classic, as recorded on the album Live from Redlands University, is a swinging, happy chart which allows for lots of blowing space and is combined with great ensemble sections. This...

A great alto saxophone feature. From the incomparable Contemporary Concepts album (1955). It begins with a soft, lovely statement of the melody and ends that way, with a roaring up-tempo middle sectio...

One of the things Johnny Richards did best was write gorgeous melodies (many just think of him as bombastic and obsessed with odd-meter things). This is one of those melodies, as recorded on the Back...

This is a beautiful ballad, exactly as recorded on the Rendezvous with Kenton album. It features solos for alto and tenor saxophones. This is a gorgeous theme in a lovely setting. 5-5-5-3

This is another one of those charts which did not get commercially (or legally) recorded by the band. Hank wrote it in the later years. It features the lush 5-way trombone sound for which the band was...

It is hard to explain the characteristic of this arrangement except to say that, even though Graettinger writes some very adventurous and futuristic textures and lines, you always know where and what...

An absolutely gorgeous Bobby Troup ballad which features trumpet and tenor sax. Beautiful use of the warm sax and trombone sounds so typical of Kenton. As recorded on the Standards in Silhouette CD. 5...

Graettinger arranged this standard in his most unusual way, using dissonance offset with the beauty of this gorgeous melody. It is a trombone solo pretty much throughout the entire ballad. Great writi...

This was recorded by the Stan Kenton Orchestra on Adventures in Jazz. The solo may be played with any one of various instruments, or this could be used as a vocal chart. It was originally played by Ra...

As recorded by the Stan Kenton Orchestra on Sketches on Standards, this is a superb alto saxophone ballad feature, as arranged by Russo for Lee Konitz. Russo employs a dark, brooding, beautiful settin...

Astor Piazzolla's music lends itself well to the big band idiom, and Fred Sturm is a masterful arranger for big band. As recorded on 'Libertango ! Hommage to Astor Piazzolla' (HR Big Band), this chart...

Bill Potts' arrangements for the recording The Jazz Soul of Porgy and Bess are legendary. This medley is one of those charts, and it includes 5 different themes from Gershwin's masterpiece. There is s...

As recorded on Tonight Show Band, Vol. 2 (Amherst), this wonderful arrangement by the late, great Tommy Newsom features trumpet throughout. There is marvelous ensemble writing, set in a swingy ballad...

Piazzolla wrote many beautiful melodies, and this one is perhaps the most haunting.  This version is a step higher than the "non-Pro" version. It is a flugelhorn solo throughout, with very reasonable...