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Artist
Stan Kenton & His Orchestra
12+ albums
jazzbig-bandcool jazzamericanBig Band
about
Stanley Newcomb Kenton was born in Wichita, KS, and raised first in Colorado and then in California. He learned piano as a child and while a teenager toured with various bands. He attended Bell High School in Bell, California, where he graduated in 1930. In June 1941 he formed his first band, which developed into one of the best-known West Coast ensembles of the forties. In the mid-forties Kenton Band and style became known as "The Wall Of Sound", a tag later used by Phil Spector. He was a competent pianist that had been influenced by Earl Hines. Stan Kenton died August 25, 1979 at age 67. Important in his early days as an arrranger and inspiration for his sidemen. For a more thorough biography and discography, see Wikipedia, the free encyclpedia. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
