American pianist and composer Stan Kenton , who died in 1979, led various big bands with great success for almost 40 years but stirred up controversy in 1950 when he formed his Innovations in Modern Music
Orchestra, employing up to 40 musicians. He commissioned composers such as Robert Graettinger , Shorty Rogers ,
Pete Rugolo and Bill Russo to write music specifically for the orchestra. In this four-part series, Max Harrison looks at this ambitious, experimental project and puts it in its historical context. Numbers featured in the first programme include Incident in Jazz, Thermopylae and House of Strings by Graettinger. Producer Derek Drescher
Repeated Friday 12.30am