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I had recently started reading the earlier Listening to Prestige Vol. 1 (1949-54) session-by-session book (well, it's not that comprehensive session-by-session wise and otherwise a somewhat mixed bag too), but before additionally getting started seriously on the new "Listening to Prestige" label history book by Tad Richards as well I went back to this one (below) that I had gifted to myself for Christmas (based on recommendations by fellow forumists): Well-written, a fluent and informative read - about the music, the band and the man as an orchestra leader, anyway (as some other reivewer said, there are other books for other aspects of Stan Kenton the man ). I am now a bit more than halfway through the book (up to the Mellophonium years) and can say it really gives today's reader a good look into the "Kenton era" in all its facets. I've seen reviews of this book by, on the face of it, renowned reviewers who faulted Michael Sparke's book for a lack of "critical musical analysis" of Kenton's music. I don't know what they'd have expected this to be - how would anyone do a readable (!!) in-depth analysis of the Bob Graettinger scores or even those of Johnny Richards that remains readable to anyone OUTSIDE the confrerie of advanced musicologists in their ivory towers? I.e. readable to the average layman reader and listener and collector of the Stan Kenton music. For this target group of readers, however, I find the author has found the right balance of presenting, describing and characterizing the music in a way that makes you reach for certain records in the Kenton corner of your record shelves to give them a spin again or to revisit other records where the less than ethusiastic description by the author makes you wonder whether you did right in buying that platter in the first place. So, no, the author is no Kenton fanboy all the way through but does cover the weak spots too.  Another bone of contention by some reivewers was the alleged excessive reliance on quotations from former band members and "subjective opinions". It may be only me but I find it is exactly these statements from those who worked with the man that brings the music and the life and working conditions of the Kenton band really into life and makes it all more understandable to present-day readers. This is another point where I wonder how things would have to be done to please these professional reviewers and what, if proceeding by the same yardstick, they would they have had to fault other authors for in THEIR biographies (and there are plenty out there where the weak spots stand out glaringly even to the non-expert reader). In fact, as I had come into posession of the below Kenton biography by William Lee last summer I decided on a two-fold approach and for large stretches of the Sparke biography I read the Lee biography in parallel for additional info - and testimonials (quotations ) from band members.  On its own, the Lee biography can be a wearisome read for anyone but unconditional Kentonites who gladly absorb every snippet of everything ever written about Stan Kenton ... The quotations from former band members are even more numerous and even lengthier there, the capsule biographies given in the chronology for most new band members can distract and wear the reader out in the long run, and the reprints of contemporary press coverage of Kenton and his band activities often are redundant and colored by period copywriter blurb anyway (and not totally easy to quickly absorb for the reader due to a clumsy page layout). But if taken piecemeal and in moderate and well-targeted doses, those quotations and period press articles can be interesting and helpful in better understanding the reception of the Kenton band in its times. Even though those testimonials by former band members may be a bit colored by the fact that many seem to have been collected soon after the death of Stan Kenton (so a tone of "de mortuis nil nisi bene" may well have reigned here and there). All in all, when used in a targeted manner as a  "source book" the Lee biography complements the one by Michael Sparke in a very useful way.  In short, even without having access to the Lee biography, I'd recommend the Sparke bio any time to those who are not yet familiar with any Kenton biography - and thanks again to you forum members who pointed me towards this one.   

What shall they do? Everything has been out multiple times. The best they can do is keeping the fine box sets and most  important reissues available.

Masterpiece

The set landed just now in Italy, after crossing storm, delays, and the monsters of italian customs! Wow!