by Andrea Canter

  On Dec. 1 (7:30 p.m.), the Twin Cities Jazz Society and KBEM’s “Big Band Scene” will present the Nova Contemporary Jazz Orchestra in “Stan Kenton’ s 100th Birthday Celebration CD Release Party.” Part of the TCJS “Jazz from J to Z” season, the festivities take place at the Minnetonka High School Performing Arts Center (8375 Highway 7). The opening set of the concert will feature Kenton music performed by the Minnetonka High School Jazz Ensemble I.

  Directed by Mike Krikava and sponsored by the nonprofit Nova Jazz Corporation, the Nova Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (NCJO) performs throughout the metro area and beyond, frequently drawing from the compositions of band members and commissioned works from composers like Dan Cavanagh, Steve Devich, John Guari and Greg Stinson. NCJO performs monthly (last Tuesday of the month) at the Shorewood in Fridley, and has eight recordings, including its brand new Dance to Be-Bop, released in October. The musicians in the current edition of NCJO include Bob Byers, Bill Burton, Mike Krikava, Kari Musil and Paul Peterson (saxophones); Mike Larson,  Craig Lawless, Ike Wagner and Chris Wiley (trombones); John Ahern, Sten Johnson, Graham Martin and Tim Martin (trumpets); John Hyvarinen (guitar); Bruce Pedalty (piano); Pete Carstad (bass); and Dave Perry (drums).

  Stan Kenton was one of the most innovative, influential, and at times controversial of American bandleaders. He led large ensembles of 20+ musicians, producing a sound as recognizable as that of the bands of Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, or Count Basie. Afro-Cuban rhythms were a Kenton specialty, often scored for a full arsenal of percussion including tympani, bongos, congas, timbales, claves and maracas. Kenton’s music—not composed for dancing—was known for its often-intense volume, dissonance, powerful brass and unconventional saxophone voicings; he labeled it “progressive jazz.”  In his later years, Kenton focused more and more on jazz education, promoting young talents through clinics and by providing his charts to high school and college bands, which makes Minnetonka High School a most appropriate setting for this NCJO concert.

  The two-CD set to be celebrated on Dec. 1 (Double Feature –The Stan Kenton Orchestra and the Nova Jazz Orchestra) includes one disc recorded live by Kenton in 1959 at the Blue Note in Chicago (and featuring the late trumpeter Bud Brisbois of Edina), and a second disc of NCJO performing unrecorded works written for Kenton by Bill Mathieu, Kenton’s staff arranger in 1959-60. While Mathieu’s compositions were featured on Kenton’s Standards in Silhouette, there were more that Kenton never recorded. Mathieu brought 14 of these charts to Nova in winter 2011, and now all unrecorded compositions that Mathieu wrote for Kenton are available via the NCJO’s new CD, produced by Tantara Productions of Chicago. On the recording, NCJO uses the Kenton configuration of five trumpets, five trombones, five saxes and four rhythm players, augmenting its band with additional trumpet (Pete Davis), trombone (Mike Haynes), Latin percussionist (Angel Diaz), and guest soloist Dave Karr on tenor and bari saxes. Key soloists include Sten Johnson and John Ahern, trumpets; Bob Byers, alto sax; Paul Peterson, tenor sax; Bill Burton, bass sax; and Mike Larson, Chris Wiley and Mike Haynes, trombones.

  One of the area’s top high school jazz ensembles, the Minnetonka High School Jazz Band’s Ensemble I will open with its own set of Stan Kenton music. Directed by Miles Mortenson, the band recently performed an opening set for the JazzMN Orchestra and features some of the top young jazz artists in the metro area.

  Tickets for this Dec. 1 “Jazz from J to Z” concert are available at the door for $10; and $7, TCJS and KBEM members. The CD set will be available at the concert for $20 ($10/per disc).