Stan Kenton concert in the '50's

[Terry Monks]

Hi. I lived in and around Vancouver until 1978 and was a fan of jazz
and a friend of Al Neil and the guys who started the Cellar. Some time
in the '50's there was a concert, I think at the Denman Auditorium,
featuring the Stan Kenton Orchestra with guest stars Charlie Parker, Lee
Konitz and Dizzy Gillespie. What made it truly memorable was that after
Dizzy did his stint the crowd wouldn't let him off the stage (although
he egged them on) and finally Kenton called all the guest soloists on
stage and they sat in with his band for one number, each taking a solo.
Gillespie and Konitz sight read the part of the guy next to him; Parker
sat with a bemused smile on his face till he was called upon to solo.

I'm just wondering if anyone remembers this concert. I realize it's a
long time ago. I gather Bob Smith is no longer with us. I doubt that
Al Neil would have gone. Not really his thing. But I recently read an
article in the Globe and Mail called "the Greatest Jazz Concert Ever" or
something and I thought, "oh, no, it wasn't. The greatest was the night
in Vancouver when Stan Kenton......"

Do you know of any senior citizens around there who might have attended?

Terry Monks
Saskatoon
mt.monks@sasktel.net

ps. I hear there's a new Cellar. Could that be?

[Brian Nation]

A few people I can think of that might have attended that concert are either not online or haven't got the hang of this forum.

Just a week or so ago I met a drummer (his name escapes me at the moment) who was at the Massey Hall concert. That was interesting getting a first-hand account of. (Is that a sentence?)

Yes, there is a current incarnation of the Cellar. It's a different club in a different location but perhaps a spiritual descendant of the original. There's a forum (http://vancouverjazz.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=9) on this board dedicated to it although all posts disappeared during a recent break-in.

The Cellar site's at http://cellarjazz.com

[Morgan Childs]

Brian, that wasn't my ol' buddy Fred Webster, was it? I have heard several first hand accounts of having seen that show... it must have been incredible.

[Brian Nation]

Yes, Fred Webster. That's it!

[Morgan Childs]

Fred's a guy I've been wanting to mention on this forum for a long time. He's the greatest. Old guy, been a lot of places and seen a lot of things, and loves jazz more than anybody in the world. He helped me buy my first drumkit, taught me my first brush strokes, hipped me to Art Blakey, told me stories about seeing Art Tatum and Bud Powell live and up close at Birdland, as well as playing himself with Kenny Dorham, Sonny Stitt and Wardell Grey. Fred's a treasure, and my hero. If more people cared about music like he does... we'd all be better off for it.

[Terry Monks]

Before I posted my question on your forum I had sent it to a Stan Kenton website and got the following snarky answer from Noel Wedder who maintains it;

I'm afraid I don't know of anyone else who attended this concert.

I did, however, attend the one they did in New Haven. Many years later, after joining the Band, I asked Stan
about this tour and he told me he wasn't terribly thrilled about touring with Gillespie.

He was of the opinion that Dizzy was a very overrated player, who cared more about clowning around than
playing. He also thought him to be a very crude individual after witnessing him defecate backstage into a
tomato can at one of the Newport Jazz Festivals. That little scene sealed Dizzy's fate with him
forever.

[Brian Nation]

Although I've run into him a couple of times (at Hot Jazz, I think, and possible elsewhere) my first conversation with Webster took place behind the Cellar at the Golson gig and based on the all too brief time I spent talking with him I'd have to agree with your praise, Morgan.

Why don't you sit down with him and a tape recorder and record a conversation/interview for the site?

I'm sure he is a treasure and although he looks to be in great shape and will hopefully be around a long time, our treasured musicians do eventually go and their stories are lost forever. Why didn't anyone interview Stew Barnett, for example? Can you imagine the stories that guy had?

[Morgan Childs]

That's a great idea Brian. Actually something that comes up often when I talk to Fred is that me and Ross are always trying to get him to write his memoirs, or at least just jot down his stories when he can find the time. I actually think he has started doing that... I have to call him, haven't talked to him or seen him in a while.