foolish.” It seems to us, however, thatnanyone who was instrumental in erectingneither Auschwitz or Kolyma ultimatelynamounts to the same historicalnand moral worth.nTo the left-liberal critics who populatenthe cultural sections of the media.nReds is an El Dorado of cherished, ifnspecious, homilies: revolution is God’sngift (dragged through the mud by careeristsnand bureaucrats); those who dreamnof social paradises are angels (those whonask questions about them are bastardsnor business executives); social idealistsnare immaculate heroes of mind and consciencen(never arrogant blockheads whonrefuse to analyze facts or consider anyncritical reasoning). The founders of thenCommunist Party USA, whatever theirncrimes (of which we are no w well aware),nLarge CongregationsnWilliam F. Lee: Stan Kenton: ArtistrynIn Rhythm; Creative Press;nLos Angeles.nStanley Dance: The World of CountnBaste; Charles Scribner’s Sons;nNew York.nBy Doug RamseynDr. Lee’s 727-page melange, partnfan letter and part scrapbook, will beninvaluable to researchers into the phenomenonnof the late Stan Kenton andnhis impact on jazz in the 1940’s, 50’snand 60’s. The scholars will have to siftnthrough masses of anecdotes and hundredsnof press notices from publicationsnas diverse as the Landsdale, PennsylvanianNorth Perm Reporter and thenLondon Times. They may suffer, butnthey will come away with useful material.nMr. Ramsey is a noted jazz critic.n44inChronicles of CulturenMl SICnappear on the wide screen as proletariannversions of Norman Rockwell’s “DecentnAmerican”—well-scrubbed, well-intentioned,nwith no sign of the fanaticismnand hatred with which they were imbuednin real life. Reds is featured in neighborhoodnmovie theaters, which sends thenentire American elite corps of liberalncritics into ecstasy. Not a single one ofnall the liberal mavens has noticed thatnthe last words of John Reed—on hisndeathbed in a Soviet hospital—were “Inwant to go home …” After his shortnand wretched life as a propagandist ofnevil, it apparently had dawned on himnthat perhaps something better could benfound in his own despised country ofnbrutal, strike-breaking policemen, ofnthe obtuse and hypocritical bourgeoisie,nof greedy, exploitative capitalism. DnIt is questionable whether the generalnreader, regardless of his devotion tonKenton, will have the patience for thentask. Between the covers Dr. Lee hasnintermingled verbatim reminiscencesnfrom Kenton’s relatives, friends andncolleagues with four decades of newspapernand magazine articles and reviews.nStrung together on a meager chronologicalnnarrative, all this raw sourcenmaterial is almost indigestible as continuousnreading.nAs a reference work, however, thenvolume is important. The index is comprehensivenand accurate. The discographynis complete, although it does notninclude recording-session personnel, anserious oversight. There is a personnelnlisting by instrument, but it is alphabetical.nIt is also astonishing—over thenyears, 130 trumpet players worked fornKenton, 72 tenor saxophonists, 32ndrummers. The band was a vast trainingnground for jazz musicians. Some ofnnnthe most accomplished and successfulnsoloists, arrangers and leaders of modernnjazz were given their first breaks bynStan Kenton. His greatest contributionnto music was unquestionably his abilitynto spot talent and allow it to flourishnin the creative environment of his orchestra.nRadiating from these pagesnwith an intensity far more compellingnthan the aggregate of information isnthe admiration of his musicians. Evennthose who question the value of hisnmusical philosophy are lavish in theirnpraise of Kenton as a leader and fathernfigure.nWhat is missing from the book isnfulfillment of the true biographer’s dutyn—to put his subject in perspective. Itnremains for someone else to assess Kenton’snimpact on the jazz idiom, to criticallynsort out his solid musical accomplishmentsnfrom his bombast, to investigatenthe social and cultural phenomenanthat surrounded Kenton’s astoundinglynrapid elevation to popularnsuccess in the 1940’s. Dr. Lee’s effortnwill be helpful in the task. In the meantime,nexcept for the extremely patientnand knowledgeable reader, more insightninto Kenton’s music will be gained fromnhis recordings than from this well-intentionednbut ungainly work.nStanley Dance’s volume on the proteannband leader. Count Basie, also consistsnof reminiscences and previouslynpublished material. But Dance, one ofnthe great authorities on mainstream jazz,nuses logical organization and his ownnsolid evaluations to make the book readablenand to place Basie in perspective.nDance’s passages on the componentsnof the Basie piano style and the evolutionnof the rhythmic aspects of jazz innKansas City are helpful in understandingnwhy the band was so unexpectedlynsuccessful when it reached New Yorknin 1936. He explains why the rhythmnsection was the heart of the organization,nhow Basie’s deceptively spare pianonstyle drove the section, and why Basie’snwisdom in the selection of tempos accountednin great part for the band’s un-n