These, along with two other recorded tracks, were intended to comprise an entirely fresh Stan Kenton LP release for Capitol Records later that year from the newly formed mellophonium orchestra. While the mellophoniums helped to bridge the sonic gap in the middle range between trombones and trumpet, they were volatile in terms of tuning and reliability (even with the best players). Both Johnny Richards and long time Kenton staff composer Gene Roland are the primary writers and conductors for these later recording dates (Kenton himself writes "Midnight Tales" for the project, which was never released); neither staff writer made musical accommodations when writing for the new instrument. The whole project was ditched after 11 frustrating hours of recording, only producing 26 minutes of usable music. Oddly, Johnny Richards' Wagon (On The Wagon) is one of the most interesting tracks on the 1991 re-issue and was originally issued on a Kenton compilation LP from the 1970s by Capitol Records years after the band had gone with Creative World Records (Kenton's own label). Kenton was greatly criticized over the years for having bands that did not swing like the bands of Woody Herman, Count Basie, or Duke Ellington. This one track composed by Richards (one of only two swing, non-Afro Latin cuts from the CD) proves wrong any doubts about the Kenton band being able to compete against the aforementioned bands. The alto saxophone solo by Gabe Baltazar on Wagon is formidable and a real highlight of his tenure with Kenton; easily comparable to solos of earlier alto players with the band such as Lee Konitz, Lennie Niehaus, or Charlie Mariano. Ironically, the once maligned fledgling mellophonium band (and poor tuning) is later praised for its 'imposing testimony' on Richards' first scores for the group. In 1960 Kenton also has the instrumentation of the sax section changed to alto/tenor/tenor/baritone/baritone or bass saxophone creating a much more robust lower end to the band. The sax section make-up would stay the same until the band disbanded after Kenton's passing in the late 1970s (mellophoniums were discarded by the middle 1960s). The trombone section is also transformed to have tuba anchoring the brass. The first Kenton mellophonium band was a far more symphonic sounding group than earlier versions or periods of the Kenton orchestra. The initial September 1960 sessions function to work through the orchestration and sonic problems presented by such a wide variety and