[Portrait of Eddie Safranski and Shelly Manne, New York, N.Y.(?), ca. Jan. 1947]

There have been few jazz musicians as controversial as Stan Kenton. Dismissed by purists of various genres and loved by many others, Kenton ranks up as jazz's cult figure. He emphasized emotion, power, and advanced harmonies over swing. Kenton was born on December 15, 1911, in Wichita, Kansas. A pianist since he was a child, and a touring musician as a teenager, Kenton formed his first band in 1941. This ensemble's bombastic style came to be known as the "Wall of Brass." The Kenton family history contained a fair share of tragedy and controversy. The musician's second wife, a jazz singer, shot herself dead in 1981, leaving two children. Their son, Lance, was arrested for conspiracy to murder in 1978 after placing a rattlesnake in a lawyer's mailbox. The Stan Kenton Orchestra was one of the most popular US big bands of the 1940s. Kenton continued leading and touring with his big band up until his death. He died on August 25, 1979, in Los Angeles, California.

New Orleans is credited with being the birthplace of jazz, the “Windy City” Chicago - with further spreading it throughout America, but it was New York that was responsible for making it a worldwide recognized genre. By 1930, New York had replaced Chicago as the jazz capital of the world. Those who aspired to jazz stardom had to prove their mettle in Manhattan. Count Basie’s orchestra set up a new home base at the Woodside Hotel in Queens in 1937 and played at the Roseland Ballroom, Savoy Ballroom, and Apollo Theater. Saxophonist Charlie Parker also relocated to Gotham and was playing at Three Deuces in Manhattan. In the 1940s, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie began experimenting with melodic and harmonic dissonance as well as rhythmic alterations. Harlem became the scene for these musicians. By 1941, Parker, Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Christian and Kenny Clarke were jamming there regularly with their experimental music that is known as bebop. In 1945, a young Miles Davis moved to New York and became intrigued with Parker. Soon he would work his way into Parker's quintet. By the end of the 1940s, bebop was the most popular style among young jazz musicians. By the early 1950s, it had mutated into new styles such as hard bop, cool jazz, and cuban jazz.

Widely regarded as a most versatile and musical drummer, Shelly Manne (1920-1984) was a founding father of the West Coast jazz scene in the 1950s. Manne possessed a phenomenal technique, which he channeled into some of the most creative, lyrical drumming ever heard. His solos were unique, sometimes humorous, and above all else, musical. When asked how Shelly might have responded upon receiving the Hall of Fame award, his widow, Florence "Flip" Manne, replied: "He would be astounded by how many people remember him, and deeply humbled to be honored by this award. Just before his death he remarked that there were so many new young lions playing drums, he didn't think anyone knew who he was any more."