The “Golden Hits Of The 60s”
Main MenuConcept Refinement The Author..Wayne JancikGolden Age Of The 50sGolden Age Of The 60s1970s and There After
KAI WINDING
“MORE”
(R. Ortolani, N. Oliviero)
Verve 10295
No. 8 August 24, 1963
.
.
.
Winding blew into the States in 1934. Born Kai Chresten Wilding on May 5, 1922 and raised in
Aarhus, Denmark, Kai taught himself how to play the trombone during high school. At 18, Kai
joined Shorty Allen’s band. Throughout the ’40s, Winding worked the big band scene, playing and
recording with Alvino Ray, Benny Goodman and Stan Kenton. During the ’50s, he appeared at
Broadway jazz clubs, played with Charlie Parker, Charlie Ventura, Miles Davis and formed various
units with tip-top trombonist J.J. Johnson. Kai was in his artistic prime, winning various jazz polls,
traveling the world, and producing records.
In 1962, Kai Winding was appointed musical director of the Playboy Club in New York City. Around
this time, he started messing with mixing electronic instruments and more traditional ones. His More
and Mondo Cane #2 albums sold well; the title track from the former LP was Kai’s lone pop hit. The
tune was the theme from Mondo Cane (1963), an Italian documentary about some of the shocking
peculiarities of Man. The beat and sound of “More” were just right for those young listeners still
hungry for something that would remind them of THE TORNADOES’ “Telstar.”
In the ’70s, Kai lead, co-lead, or sided with various units, including the Giants Of Jazz with Dizzy
Gillespie, Giant Bones with Curtis Fuller, and Lionel Hampton’s All-Star Big Band. As the world moved
into the ’80s, Wilding slide into semi-retirement; playing only when the urge hit.