Mike Vax: The Mike Vax Big Band Live!MASTER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP Since Stan Kenton expressly forbade the establishment of a ghost band after his death, his music has been too seldom heard since his passing in 1979. Thanks to trumpeter Mike Vax, the Kenton legacy "lived" again for several days during the summer of 1995 when Vax and 16 other Kenton alums hold forth at the 23rd Annual Morningside College Jazz Festival in Sioux City, Iowa. Now, those spirited proceedings are available in this two-part set, which gives us another chance to savor such Kenton classics as the maestro's take on "Peanut Vendor," Chico O' Farrell's "Ramon Lopez" (with the Miami-based congolero stroking the fires), Johnny Richards' moving arrangement of "Somewhere," and Bill Holman's sleek retooling of "Stompin' at the Savoy." Working under the title of the "Mike Vax Big Band" to avoid the "ghost band" ban, we also get to hear Kenton alums Steve Wilkerson and Richard Torres on saxophone, trumpeters Steve Campos, Jay Sollenberger and, of course, Vax, as well as trombonists Roy Weigand and Bill Hartmann. Though the saxes tend to get buried in the ensemble mixes, that's hardly any different than the typical Kenton performance of yore where the leader's penchant for Wagner-esque textures was almost always top-heavy with brass. Still, it was a distinctive vision and one brought back to vibrant life thanks to Vax and the still nimble Kentonians.
Read a review by Robert Robbins from Big Bands International |
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