Progressives Abroad

For a generation or more, France has happily imported le jazz hot in all shapes and sizes; any combo, preferably Negro, that thudded realistically with a Dixie beat could take a fling at Paris with a reasonable chance of success. Lately, U.S. "progressive" jazzmen on tour have been meeting with mixed reactions from the uninhibited French, who boo at the drop of a diminished seventh, read newspapers while the music plays, shout "`a l'opere!" or "`a dormir!" when the music is too polite for their tastes. Worst of all for the progressive musicians, French Dixieland fans make a practice of invading modernist concerts just to snort and bellow.

Last week Stan Kenton, a modernist bandleader whose arrangements blend boppish bounce with blood-curdling dissonances, prepared for his Paris debut with understandable misgivings. But when concert time came, the theater was very nearly filled. When the curtain rose, friendly applause swept up from the audience, and Dixieland partisans, if any, behaved themselves. Kenton & Co. gave them a program of tightly orchestrated originals, emphasizing in turn their lush reeds and knife-edged brasses. After listening to such Kenton favorites as Collaboration, Opus in Pastels, 23 North, 82 West (the coordinates of Havana), the crowd whooped "Bis! Bis!" Said Kenton, in a curtain speech: "You have been very wonderful ... I was most concerned."

Kenton and his progressives had thoughtfully scheduled Paris as the climax of a triumphant month's tour of the Continent. Earlier, from Scandinavia to Switzerland, they had given 27 concerts in 27 days. In Copenhagen some 10,000 fans stomped their approval so hard that Kenton & Co. began to fear for the floor. Amsterdam fans called them mieters (current Dutch slang for terrific). In Miinster admirers rioted for autographs.

Progressive Britons felt frustrated. Because of a long-standing squabble between Petrillo's A.F.M. and the British Musicians Union, Kenton was not allowed to play in England. Not to be thwarted, 200 British fans flew in chartered planes to catch the show in Brussels, and at week's end, 3,000 more traveled to Dublin to catch Kenton's au revoir to Europe. "Over here," said Stan, "our music seems to be taken more seriously than back home."

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