Stanley Newcomb Kenton was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though Kenton had several pop hits from the early 1940s into the 1960s, his music was always forward-looking. Kenton was also a pioneer in the field of jazz education, creating the Stan Kenton Jazz Camp in 1959 at Indiana University.
Kenton in January 1947
Stan Kenton, Billboard magazine, October 1942
Stan Kenton with bassist Eddie Safranski, 1947 or 1948
Sam Donahue and orchestra, Kenton on right, New York, 1946
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and dominated jazz in the early 1940s when swing was most popular. The term "big band" is also used to describe a genre of music, although this was not the only style of music played by big bands.
Paul Whiteman and his orchestra in 1921
The United States Navy Band Northwest Big Band plays at a concert held in Oak Harbor High School.
Ockbrook Big Band at Pride Park Stadium
Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee