Leading a succession of original bands that played more harmonies than swing music, Stan Kenton took his style of self-proclaimed "progressive jazz" music and went straight to the top tier of the big leagues, sparking controversy among jazz enthusiasts for his innovative style while still encompassing the type of orchestral jazz music the 1930s and ‘40s loved.

Kenton was raised in Wichita, Kansas, where the instrumental virtuoso dabbled in all things music before providing the backbone for dance bands Vido Musso and Gus Arnheim in the 1930s. Choosing to be a leader instead of a follower, Kenton soon left the bands and started his own orchestra, playing alongside bassist Howard Rumsey and trumpeter Chico Alvarez in the early ‘40s before playing regularly at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach, California in 1941. The Stan Kenton Orchestra was not an overnight success, and despite a rendezvous with Bob Hope, Kenton was still down and out after a few years in the music industry.

A recording contract with Capitol Records in 1943 boosted Kenton and his Stan Kenton Orchestra in the mid-‘40s, and Kenton started steering his band to a concert genre rather than big band. This fact may have saved Kenton from later failure when big bands started breaking up, and finally in 1950 Kenton's 39-piece Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra debuted with 16 strings, a woodwind section and two French horns. The orchestra was trimmed down to 19 pieces after two years spent touring, but eventually Kenton's orchestral attempts started spiraling downward. Other than Peter Erskine and Tim Hagans, the orchestra produced no strong names in the business toward the end of Kenton's career. Playing around with different styles and genres through it all, Kenton continued to tour the country until his death in 1979.