[Dixielandjazz] Kenton & Feather

[Burt Wilson]

I was Stan Kenton's PR rep for over a year when he was a spokesperson for
Craig Stereo Systems in the late 60's. Knew him well. I know he was NOT a
racist. Everything with him was one on one--like or dislike per individual.

As an aside, I put Kenton in the same category as the French Impressionists
in that he was an artist who had a vision of something different who
followed through on what he saw as a new art form in the face of public
rejection of the different and unusual. It takes courage and flair to flaunt
the conventional and manifest something different in the world. One has to
hold fast to one's dream. He was a very courageous man.

Burt Wilson
Silver Dollar Jazz Band
  -----Original Message-----
  From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com]On Behalf Of JimDBB at aol.com
  Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 10:23 PM
  To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
  Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Kenton & Feather


  In a message dated 1/16/03 11:43:04 PM Central Standard Time,
Paigevan at cs.com writes:



    As to Kenton, he appears to have been a racist. Gary Giddins wrote a
    hilarious analysis of Kenton on Visions of Jazz which, among other
things
    indicates that Kenton favored George Wallace's presidential candidacy
and
    that Kenton's followers used to send out notices of his appearances etc
with
    the initials KKK (for Keep Kenton Kicking) as a return address.


     Appears to have been a racist?  Conjecture by Gary Giddins is not
enough reason to print rumors like this.  I never heard anything of Kenton
being a racist and I've known guys who played with him.  I seriously doubt
the KKK thing and if it did happen, Kenton had nothing to do with it.  I"ve
never heard of any jazz fans or musicians anywhere doing something like
that.

  As has been pointed out, Paige, Leonard Feather started the bogus race
accusations against Kenton.

  Jim Beebe
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