By Mark McDonald
SB Jazz society celebrated the birthday of their late president, Kathryn Stockbridge, Sunday with the Kim Richmond 23 Piece Concert Orchestra at SOhO playing a tribute to Stan Kenton and weaving a wave of symphonic color and texture that brought the big sound of the Big Band era to the packed house.
It’s not surprising the audience loved this group. Richmond had seasoned his material playing with Stan Kenton himself, as well as Claire Fischer, Johnny Mandel, Buddy Rich and many others. In Sunday’s tribute to Kenton, several tunes came from their latest CD “Artistry.”
One highlight was “Invitation.” Done in a solidly satisfying arrangement featuring Richmond’s solo on alto sax in the Kenton-style, it was nominated for a Grammy this year. Starting with slow, moody undertones, it bridged through up- tempo, and strayed from the traditional tune’s form adding Richmond’s innovations.
In a lighter mood, “The Peanut Vendor” used band instrumentation to mimic the vendor’s sounds and calliope lilt. “Intermission Riff” featured trombone solos in a traditional arrangement from a middle 1950’s recording by Kenton. And “Poetry” featured woodwinds, plus French horns in a modern style.
Celebrating Kathryn’s birthday and saluting Stan Kenton, Richmond brought his big band into full immersive sound to finish the afternoon in crowning glory with “America the Beautiful” to a final, satisfying, standing ovation.