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SWING AND THE BIG BAND 77
shatteringly new by British standards. Ellington, who has had a long successful career, is perhaps the first of the swing composers to develop a distinct and unmistakable personal style. Composer Constant Lambert speaks of him as the "first jazz composer of distinction."
The famous historian of jazz, Alan Lomax (biographer of 'Jelly Roll' Morton) writes of the emergence of swing in the '30s: "What the big money boys need were efficient music machines who would turn it out every day—quantity instead of quality". Perhaps the ultimate yet reached in big band presentation is that of the Stan Kenton orchestras. Certainly the shattering volume of noise is there, the high notes, the prussian ferocity of the ensemble discipline; but the whole thing is an exercise in magnificent high-pressure showmanship. Strip off the sales talk, and you are likely to find underneath an odd collection of souped-up Delius harmonies cast in musical forms that have no lung power to stay a course of over two bars at a time.
Personalities
William 'Count' Basie (born 1906). Played piano in Benny Moten's orchestra in Kansas City. Formed his own band which played with enormous attack and precision in a style where the 'riff' was developed to a fine art. A good blues pianist, Basie has also made some exciting solo piano records.
Benny Carter (born 1907). Played with Don |
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