Same here (especially the orchestral things), but as the 60s wore on, those tendencies became less common (or at least less overt), and that's when things got a little more interesting for me.
I remember in 1975 (74? 76?) when they were celebrating some anniversary, and they had a run of appearances on several TV shows. The music was very strange, really, lots of vamps and open-ended sections with sparse changes, no real "beat" out of Kay, just a nice soft blur of sound. "Avant-garde" in many respects, although it was still performed in tuxedos and stuff.
Flip Wilson Show