In 1961 The Stan Kenton Orchestra recorded a spectacular jazz album of music from West Side Story that rivaled even the soundtrack of the movie and the Broadway play. Kenton West Side Story was one of the first ‘mellophonium‘ albums, featuring the newly-developed trumpet/French horn hybrid instrument and won Stan his first Grammy Award in 1962 for Best sound track LP and Best large ensemble jazz LP. Here are three songs from that album:
Kenton’s beautifully mellow rendition of Maria is music from the album itself. Prologue [on the left] and Cool [on the right] are videos recorded during a live 1961 performance of the album material.
