Following my Friday post on vocalist Chris Connor with Stan Kenton in 1953, many readers emailed wanting to know where I had acquired the tracks that I featured. Truth is I have a rather extensive collection of Chris's recordings, and many of my live Kenton recordings in 1953 come from Stan Kenton's Concert in Miniature and Concert Encore road broadcasts.
Chris joined Stan Kenton's band on Jan. 8, 1953. She began singing at the University of Missouri in the late 1940s and then teamed up with Bob Brookmeyer's jazz group in Kansas City before going on to New York to join Claude Thornhill in '49. During a radio broadcast featuring Chris singing with Jerry Wald's orchestra in '52, Kenton vocalist June Christy heard her and told Kenton. Christy had left Kenton's band in '51 but continued to make guest appearances with the band. Soon after Chris Connor joined Kenton, she began appearing on the band's road broadcasts between March and June of '53.
Here are Chris's live appearances with Kenton, thanks for the meticulous work of Terry Vosbein:
March 17, 1953—Trianon Ballroom, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (go here)
March 28, 1953—Blue Note Club, Chicago (go here).
April 4, 1953—Blue Note Club, Chicago (go here).
April 14, 1953—Sampson Air Force Base, Geneva, N.Y. (go here).
April 21, 1953—Municipal Auditorium, Springfield, Mass. (go here).
April 24, 1953—Birdland, New York City (go here).
April 28, 1953—Birdland, New York City (go here).
April 29, 1953—Birdland, New York City (go here).
May 1, 1953—Birdland, New York City (go here).
May 5, 1953—Birdland, New York City (go here).
May 12, 1953—Glen Echo Park Ballroom, Washington, D.C. (go here).
May 19, 1953—Palm Gardens, Columbus, Ohio (go here).
June 2, 1953—Star Ballroom, Dakota City, Iowa (go here).
June 9, 1953—Riviera Ballroom, Lake Geneva, Wisc. (go here).
June 30, 1953—Drill Hall, Royal Canadian Air Force Station, Centralia, Ontario, Canada (go here).
Notes: Chris's June 30 appearance was her last known broadcast with Kenton. She recorded in the studio with Kenton's band for Capitol on July 8, 1953. Then she left to become a solo recording artist.
Reader Ed Frank sent along a link to an in-depth discography of Chris Connor by Iván Santiago Mercado (go here).
You'll find a main menu of Kenton's complete road broadcasts between 1952 and '56, compiled by Terry Vosbein, here)
from JazzWax http://ift.tt/1RzbzbV
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