Cuban Fire! (album)

Cuban Fire! is an album recorded by Stan Kenton and his orchestra in 1956. This has become one of the most influential Latin jazz, large ensemble recordings of all time; it was a first for the Kenton big band in terms of popularity, style, and overall album theme. The concept of the original 1956 recording centers around the Cuban Fire! suite Kenton had commissioned from composer Johnny Richards. The 1991 CD re-issue is augmented with one extra track from the 1956 sessions and five cuts recorded four years later by the first of Kenton's mellophonium orchestras (1960).

Background
Though Stan Kenton had recorded earlier hits such as The Peanut Vendor in 1947 with Latin percussionist Machito, as well as many other Latin flavored singles, the Cuban Fire! suite and LP stands as a watershed set of compositions for Johnny Richards' career and an outstanding commercial/artistic achievement for the Kenton orchestra, and a singular landmark in large ensemble Latin jazz recordings. "The reason we (i.e Kenton) made CUBAN FIRE! is interesting. We had recorded a lot of Afro-Cuban music, and a lot of the Latin guys around New York complained: 'It's wrong, you're not writing the music correctly.'"  Stan Kenton then asked composer Johnny Richards (long time staff arranger for Kenton) to write an authentic Latin “suite” that would abide by all the rules many Afro-Cuban musicians had complained about.

Composing authentic Afro-Latin music for Stan Kenton
Of all the writers in the Kenton stable of names, Richards was the best suited for the task of creating such music for the Kenton orchestra. Richards was bilingual (Spanish/English) and was born in Toluca, Mexico as Juan Manuel Cascales; his parents were Spanish immigrants to Mexico. Richards was to hang around with the Cuban-Hispanic musicians of New York for months before starting the suite. This was a much more personal endeavor for Richards than it was for any of the possible Kenton writers. “CUBAN FIRE is completely authentic, the way it combines big-band jazz with genuine Latin-American rhythms.”"  The recording is a musical triumph for both Kenton and Richards; it comes at a time when big bands and jazz were slowly eclipsed by the pop music of Elvis Presley and emerging rock n' roll.  The success of the Cuban Fire! album can be gauged in part by the immediate ascent of Johnny Richards' star after its release; he was suddenly offered a contract by Bethlehem Records to record what would be the first of several recordings with his own groups.   The entire CD recording (to include the later 1960s cuts) also does a great deal to dispel several myths about the Kenton orchestra; namely how the band swung, the diversity/quality of soloists, and how Kenton treated African-American musicians.

Recording Cuban Fire!
The original LP and recording sessions were completed on a highly compressed timeline. Before the first notes of Recuerdos and Fuego Cubano where recorded on May 22, 1956, Kenton and his orchestra had been on a two-month tour of Europe (set sail back from Cherbourg, France to New York on May 10) with only having looked at "El Congo Valiente" beforehand. The band had less than a week to prepare while in New York. While the great majority of the personnel for the LP was on tour, Richards had taken great care to meticulously rehearse the suite with the Latin percussionists who would be added for three days of recording. Though the listing for the liner notes contains six trumpets, only five are called for in Richards' scores. Due to the 'heavy lifting' the music required for the brass section, a rotation of trumpet players was utilized on the sessions. A discarded part of the suite entitled "Alma Pecadora" (Soul of a Sinner) with the heading "Cuban Fire Suite" had been rejected due to quality isssues as compared to the other movements. "Tres Corazones" (three hearts) is recorded on May 24 as the last of the three days but never makes it on the Cuban Fire! LP pressing; it does appear on a later Kenton LP release for Capitol Records in 1965. (disputed as to this cut being a part of the suite). One is to assume there are eight movements in all composed by Richards as opposed to the six on the original LP.

Soloists from the Cuban Fire! suite
Soloists are abundant on the original recording of the Cuban Fire! suite; most interesting of them being the tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson. The Thompson tenor solos on the second half of "Fuego Cubano" and the up tempo "Quien Sabe" are a new addition and contrast to the normal style and harmonic/melodic practices of known Kenton tenor sidemen such as Bill Perkins, Zoot Sims, or later Bill Trujillo. Along with the 'heavy-weight' addition of Thompson, jazz luminaries such as Carl Fontana, Lennie Niehaus, Sam Noto, and Mel Lewis are prominent in solo spots adding to the credibility and legendary status of the dates. Thompson and Curtis Counce (bass) on the Cuban Fire! sessions (and previous tour) serve as positive credits in the dispelling of myth about Kenton having racist tendencies towards the hiring of sidemen.

Re-issued recordings: the first 'Mellophonium' sessions in September, 1960
The tracks on the Cuban Fire! CD numbered 8-12 are an interesting set of recordings from a time of change for the Kenton orchestra beginning in 1960. These, along with two other recorded tracks, were intended to comprise an entirely fresh Stan Kenton LP release for Capitol Records later that year from the newly formed mellophonium orchestra. While the mellophoniums helped to bridge the sonic gap in the middle range between trombones and trumpet, they were volatile in terms of tuning and reliability (even with the best players). Both Johnny Richards and long time Kenton staff composer Gene Roland are the primary writers and conductors for these later recording dates (Kenton himself writes "Midnight Tales" for the project); neither staff writer made musical accommodations when writing for the new instrument. The whole project was ditched after 11 frustrating hours of recording, only producing 26 minutes of usable music.

Oddly, Johnny Richards' Wagon (On The Wagon) is one of the most interesting tracks on the 1991 re-issue and was originally issued on a Kenton compilation LP from the 1970s by Capitol Records years after the band had gone with Creative World Records (Kenton's own label). Kenton was greatly criticized over the years for having bands that did not swing like the bands of Woody Herman, Count Basie, or Duke Ellington. This one track composed by Richards (one of only two swing, non-Afro Latin cuts from the CD) proves wrong any doubts about the Kenton band being able to compete against the aforementioned bands. The alto saxophone solo by Gabe Baltazar on Wagon is formidable and a real highlight of his tenure with Kenton; easily comparable to solos of earlier alto players with the band such as Lee Konitz, Lennie Niehaus, or Charlie Mariano. Ironically, the once maligned fledgling mellophonium band (and poor tuning) is later praised for its 'imposing testimony' on Richards' first scores for the group.

[In 1960 Kenton also has the instrumentation of the sax section changed to alto/tenor/tenor/bari/bari or bass saxophone creating a much more robust lower end to the band. The sax section make-up would stay the same until the band disbanded after Kenton's passing in the late 1970s (mellophoniums were discarded by the middle 1960s). The trombone section is also transformed to have tuba anchoring the brass. The first Kenton mellophonium band was a far more symphonic sounding group than earlier versions or periods of the Kenton orchestra. The initial September 1960 sessions function to work through the orchestration and sonic problems presented by such a wide variety and number of instruments being recorded live in the studio.

Track listing

 * Tracks 1-6 comprised the original Capitol T-731, Cuban Fire! LP (1956)
 * Track 7 is first issued on Capitol T-20244 (UK), Fabulous Alumni of Stan Kenton  LP (1963)
 * Track 8 & 9 are first issued on Creative World ST-1066, Kenton By Request Vol. 5  LP (1972)
 * Track 10 is first issued on Creative World ST-1040, Kenton By Request Vol. 2  LP (1966)
 * Track 11 is first issued on Capitol, M-11027, Capitol Jazz Classics Vol. 2: Stan Kenton  LP (1972)
 * Track 12 is first issued on Creative World ST-1069, Kenton By Request Vol. 6  LP (1990)

Recording Sessions

 * May 22–24, 1956 in New York City at the Riverside Plaza Hotel
 * Tracks 1-7 (in mono)


 * These were recorded in the three days of sessions in New York but "Tres Corazones" was not included as part of the suite on the original Cuban Fire! LP at the behest of Johnny Richards.


 * September 19–21, 1960 in Hollywood CA at Capitol Tower Studios


 * Tracks 8-12 (in stereo)


 * Gene Roland's "Ten Bars Ago" was recorded on Sept. 21 and has been re-issued on the 4 CD set Stan Kenton Retrospective - The Capitol Years (1992, Blue Note Records, ASN B000ULGNUU)''


 * Stan Kenton's "Midnight Tales" was also recorded on Sept. 21 but has never been issued.

May 22–24, 1956

 * Piano, Conductor – Stan Kenton


 * Alto saxophone – Lennie Niehaus


 * Tenor saxophone – Bill Perkins, Lucky Thompson


 * Baritone saxophone – Bill Root


 * Trumpet – Al Mattaliano, Ed Leddy, Lee Katzman, Phil Gilbert, Sam Noto, Vinnie Tanno


 * French Horn – Irving Rosenthal, Julius Watkins


 * Trombone – Bob Fitzpatrick, Carl Fontana, Don Kelly, Kent Larson


 * Tuba – Jim McAllister


 * Guitar – Ralph Blaze


 * Bass – Curtis Counce


 * Drums – Mel Lewis


 * Timpani – George Gaber, Saul Gubin


 * Maracas – Mario Alvarez


 * Bongos – Willie Rodriguez


 * Claves – Roger Mozian


 * Timbales – George Laguna


 * Congas – Tommy Lopez

September 19–21, 1960

 * Piano, Conductor – Stan Kenton
 * Conductors – Johnny Richards, Gene Roland
 * Alto saxophone – Gabe Baltazar
 * Tenor saxophone – San Donahue, Paul Renzi
 * Baritone saxophone – Marvin Holladay
 * Baritone saxophone, Bass saxophone– Wayne Dustan
 * Trumpet – Bud Brisbois, Dalton Smith, Sam Noto, Bob Rolfe, Steve Huffsteter, Johnny Audino (Audino first two days only, cuts 8-11)
 * Mellophonium – Dwight Carver, Joe Burnett, Bill Horan, Tom Wirtel - and Gene Roland (Roland solos only on Early Hours)
 * Trombone – Dick Hyde, Ray Sikora
 * Bass Trombone – Jim Amlotte, Bob Knight
 * Tuba – Albert Pollan
 * Bass – Pete Chivily
 * Drums – Art Anton
 * Bongos/congas – George Acevedo

Production

 * Producer for all tracks: Lee Gillette
 * Re-issue (CD) producer: Ted Daryl
 * Digital transfers (CD): Jay Ranellucci and Joe Brescio
 * CD design: Franko Caligiuri/Ink Well, Inc.
 * Liner notes: Ted Daryl (for CD re-issue)

Reception
The Billboard Magazine sales tracking speaks for itself, the first Billboard Magazine review is supplied as a link and through that one can read the PDF versions of Billboard Magazine online. There are further positive reviews from Down Beat and other music periodicals during 1956. The LP was both an artistic achievement and a commercial success. This is unheard of for this type of music or jazz project in the current time and age we live; to compete head to head with pop music so successfully.


 * Recent reviews on 1991 CD re-issue

This CD contains one of the classic Stan Kenton albums, a six-part suite composed and arranged by Johnny Richards. The Kenton orchestra was expanded to 27 pieces for these dates including six percussionists, two French horns and six trumpets. With such soloists as tenor-great Lucky Thompson (on "Fuego Cubano,") trombonist Carl Fontana, altoist Lennie Niehaus, Bill Perkins on tenor and trumpeters Sam Noto and Vinnie Tanno, and plenty of raging ensembles, this is one of Stan Kenton's more memorable concept albums of the 1950s.


 * Scott Yanow, Allmusic Guide

Composer-arranger Johnny Richards created the music for this concept album, recorded in 1956. It required a very large band for its execution, combining Stan Kenton's usual brass emphasis with five Latin percussionists led by Willie Rodriguez on bongos. The results are admirable: music filled with heat and energy and sudden sharp contrasts in moods and voices. There are excellent solo contributions from a band that included trumpeter Sam Noto, trombonist Carl Fontana, and saxophonists Lennie Niehaus, Lucky Thompson, and Bill Perkins, but the real stars are Richards and the collective ensemble, who bring extraordinary precision and energy to a highly demanding score. The results are among the finest moments of Kenton's career, not only for the authentic use of Latin rhythmic elements but also for Richards's success in integrating extended composition techniques with jazz improvisers. The CD also includes five pieces by Richards and Gene Roland recorded in 1960 by the "Mellophonium" version of Kenton's orchestra.


 * Stuart Broomer, Amazon.com