One of the all-time great tenor saxophonists,
Stan Getz was known as "The Sound" because he had one of the most beautiful tones ever heard.
Getz, whose main early influence was
Lester Young, grew to be a major influence himself and to his credit he never stopped evolving.
Getz had the opportunity to play in a variety of major
swing big bands while a teenager due to the World War II draft. He was with
Jack Teagarden (1943) when he was just 16, followed by stints with
Stan Kenton (1944-1945),
Jimmy Dorsey (1945), and
Benny Goodman (1945-1946); he soloed on a few records with
Goodman.
Getz, who had his recording debut as a leader in July 1946 with four titles, became famous during his period with
Woody Herman's Second Herd (1947-1949), soloing (along with
Zoot Sims,
Herbie Steward, and
Serge Chaloff) on the original version of "Four Brothers" and having his sound well-featured on the ballad "Early Autumn." After leaving
Herman,
Getz was (with the exception of some tours with
Jazz at the Philharmonic) a leader for the rest of his life.
During the early '50s,
Getz broke away from the
Lester Young style to form his own musical identity and he was soon among the most popular of all jazzmen. He discovered
Horace Silver in 1950 and used him in his quartet for several months. After touring Sweden in 1951, he formed an exciting quintet that co-featured guitarist
Jimmy Raney; their interplay on uptempo tunes and tonal blend on ballads were quite memorable.
Getz's playing helped
Johnny Smith have a hit in "Moonlight in Vermont"; during 1953-1954,
Bob Brookmeyer made his group a quintet and, despite some drug problems during the decade,
Getz was a constant poll winner. After spending 1958-1960 in Europe, the tenorman returned to the U.S. and recorded his personal favorite album, Focus, with arranger
Eddie Sauter's Orchestra. Then, in February 1962,
Getz helped usher in the
bossa nova era by recording Jazz Samba with
Charlie Byrd; their rendition of "Desafinado" was a big hit. During the next year,
Getz made
bossa nova-flavored albums with
Gary McFarland's big band,
Luiz Bonfá, and
Laurindo Almeida, but it was Getz/Gilberto (a collaboration with
Antonio Carlos Jobim and
João Gilberto) that was his biggest seller, thanks in large part to "The Girl from Ipanema" (featuring the vocals of
Astrud and
João Gilberto).
Getz could have spent the next decade sticking to
bossa nova, but instead he de-emphasized the music and chose to play more challenging
jazz. His regular group during this era was a piano-less quartet with vibraphonist
Gary Burton, he recorded with
Bill Evans (1964), played throughout the 1965
Eddie Sauter soundtrack for Mickey One, and made the classic album Sweet Rain (1967) with
Chick Corea. Although not all of
Getz's recordings from the 1966-1980 period are essential, he proved that he was not afraid to take chances. Dynasty with organist
Eddie Louiss (1971), Captain Marvel with
Chick Corea (1972), and The Peacocks with
Jimmy Rowles (1975) are high points. After utilizing pianist
Joanne Brackeen in his 1977 quartet,
Getz explored some aspects of
fusion with his next unit which featured keyboardist
Andy Laverne.
Getz even used an Echoplex on a couple of songs but, despite some misfires, most of his dates with this unit are worthwhile. However, purists were relieved when he signed with Concord in 1981 and started using a purely acoustic backup trio on most dates.
Getz's sidemen in later years included pianists
Lou Levy,
Mitchell Forman,
Jim McNeely, and
Kenny Barron. His final recording, 1991's People Time, (despite some shortness in the tenor's breath) is a brilliant duet set with
Barron.
Throughout his career
Getz recorded as a leader for Savoy, Spotlite, Prestige, Roost, Verve, MGM, Victor, Columbia, SteepleChase, Concord, Sonet, Black Hawk, A&M, and EmArcy among other labels (not to mention sessions with
Lionel Hampton,
Dizzy Gillespie, and
Gerry Mulligan) and there are dozens of worthy records by the tenor currently available on CD. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Soft Samba
Verve Jazz Masters 8