"My life is music. And in some vague, mysterious, and subconscious way,
I have always been driven by a taut inner spring
which has propelled me to almost compulsively reach for perfection in music,
often-- in fact, mostly-- at the expense of everything else in my life."
- Stan Getz
Jazz legend Stan Getz was born in Philadelphia, PA on February 2, 1927. He had wanted to play a musical instrument since he was six, and at age twelve he bought a harmonica. In junior high school, his gym teacher/band director asked him to play bass in the band, where Getz realized he had a certain musical acuity the other students didn't possess. When he was 13, his father bought him an alto saxophone, and Getz fell in love with music. After trying different types of saxophones, he decided that the tenor saxophone was for him.
At the tender age of 16, in 1943, Getz tried out for Jack Teagarden's band, since Teagarden needed to replace players taken by the draft. Getz, with his terrific tenor sax sound, he was a shoe-in. After playing for "Big Tea," Getz joined a plethora of bands led by some of the greatest bandleaders, including Stan Kenton in 1944, Jimmy Dorsey in 1945, and Benny Goodman in 1945 and 1946. But where Getz shined was in Woody Herman's Second Herd band from 1947-1949. He gained national notoriety with the recording of "Early Autumn" with Woody Herman's band. Getz also soloed on "Four Brothers" along with Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, and Serge Chaloff.
By the early 1950's, Getz began to depart from the style of his idol, Lester Young, after discovering pianist Horace Silver. Getz then formed a quintet featuring Jimmy Raney to play a smoother version of bop that some would call "cool jazz." He also played with Charlie Parker's Birdland Sextet and with Miles Davis. In the '50s he became one of the most popular jazz musicians, and along with his fame came what addles many of celebrity: drug addiction. He moved to Denmark in 1958, hoping to overcome his habit. In 1961, Getz came back and recorded what he called his personal favorite album, Focus, with Eddie Sauter's Orchestra.
By the 1960, Getz had once again changed styles, incorporating Brazilian bossa nova into jazz. At first he recorded with Charlie Byrd, then he worked with Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobin and singers Joao and Astrud Gilberto. By 1963 he had once again made a new style popular with his famous recording of "The Girl from Ipanema." By the next year, however, Getz had toned down the bossa nova in favor of a more straightforward sound. His quartet dropped the piano in favor of Gary Burton's vibraphone and recorded with Bill Evans. In 1967, Chick Corea would join his band and record the classic album Sweet Rain. In 1969, Getz once again fell into drug usage and moved to Malaga, Spain.
But Getz would soon come back. In 1971 Getz recorded Dynasty with Frenchman Eddie Louiss, and again recorded with Chick Corea for 1972's Captain Marvel. Jimmie Rowles recorded The Peacocks with Getz in 1975, and Getz worked with pianist Joanne Brackeen with his quartet in 1977. Getz went on to experiment with even more electronic piano sounds, working on some fusion tunes with keyboardist Andy Laverne.
In 1981, Getz signed to Concord Jazz and reverted to an acoustic-only backup trio, pleasing many jazz purists. He would continue to record until his death from cancer in 1991. His final recording was 1991's People Time, a duet set with pianist Kenny Barron. Getz would be remembered more for his embracing and popularization of jazz trends, rather as the instigator of new fashions in jazz. Getz made over 300 recordings in his career, many of them for preeminent jazz label, Verve. His ear for talent and amazing sound on the tenor sax (people referred to his lush tone as "The Sound") secured his place in the annals of jazz.
"Let's face it, we'd all like to sound like that-- if we could."
- John Coltrane
Discography
- All Star Series (1946)
- Stan Getz and Tenor Sax Stars (1949)
- Stan Getz, Vol. 2 (1949)
- The Brothers (1949)
- Long Island Sound (1949)
- The New Sounds (1949)
- Quartets (1949)
- Prezervation (1949)
- At Carnegie Hall (Live) (1949)
- The Sounds of Stan Getz (1950)
- Modern World (1950)
- Getz Age (1950)
- Roost Quartets (1950)
- Split Kick (1950)
- Chamber Music (1951)
- The Sound Metronome (1951)
- Jazz at Storyville (Live) (1951)
- Jazz at Storyville, Vol. 3 (Live) (1951)
- Storyville, Vol. 1 (Live) (1951)
- Storyville, Vol. 2 (Live) (1951)
- Stan Getz & Jimmy Raney (Live) (1951)
- Billie and Stan (1951)
- Moonlight in Vermont (1952)
- Live (1952), Vol. 1 (1952)
- Stan Getz Plays (1952)
- Interpretations by the Stan Getz Quintet Vol. 1 (1953)
- Interpretations by the Stan Getz Quintet Vol. 2 (1953)
- Interpretations by the Stan Getz Quintet Vol. 3 (1953)
- More West Coast Jazz with Stan Getz (1953)
- The Melodic Stan Getz (1953)
- Interpretations (1953)
- Stan Getz Plays Blues (1953)
- Diz and Getz (1953)
- Stan Getz '57 (1953)
- Stan Getz and the Cool Sounds (1954)
- Another Time, Another Place (1954)
- Eloquence (1954)
- Stan Getz at the Shrine (Live) (1954)
- At the Shrine Auditorium (Live) (1954)
- Hamp and Getz (1955)
- Stan Getz Quintet (1955)
- West Coast Jazz (1955)
- Stan Getz in Stockholm (Live) (1955)
- In Stockholm (Live) (1955)
- For Musicians Only (1956)
- The Steamer (1956)
- The Soft Swing (1957)
- Award Winner: Stan Getz (1957)
- Stan Getz and J.J. Johnson at the Opera House (Live) (1957)
- The Getz/J.J. Set (1957)
- Stan Getz & Gerry Mulligan/Stan Getz & Oscar Peterson (1957)
- Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi (1957)
- Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio (1957)
- Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi (1957)
- At the Opera House (Live) (1957)
- Stan Getz with Cal Tjader (1958)
- Stan Meets Chet (1958)
- Jazz Giants '58 (1958)
- Stockholm Sessions '58 (Live) (1958)
- Imported from Europe (1958)
- Live in Europe (1958)
- Stan Getz at Large (1960)
- Stan Getz at Large, Vol. 1 (1960)
- Stan Getz at Large, Vol. 2 (1960)
- Cool Velvet (1960)
- Jazz Jamboree '60 (1960)
- Focus (1961)
- Stan Getz and Bob Brookmeyer (1961)
- Rhythms (1961)
- Jazz Samba (1962)
- Big Band Bossa Nova (1962)
- Jazz Samba Encore! (1963)
- Getz/Gilberto (1963)
- Stan Getz with Guest Artist Laurindo Almeida (1963)
- Reflections (1963)
- Stan Getz and Bill Evans (1964)
- Getz Au Go Go Featuring Astrud Gilberto (Live) (1964)
- Getz/Gilberto #2 (Live) (1964)
- Chick Corea/Bill Evans Sessions (1964)
- The Canadian Concert of Stan Getz & Gary Burton (Live) (1965)
- Mickey One (1965)
- Look at Yesterday (1965)
- A Song After Sundown (1966)
- Stan Getz and Arthur Fiedler at Tanglewood (Live) (1966)
- Didn't We (1966)
- Quartet in Paris (1966)
- Voices (1966)
- Sweet Rain (1967)
- What the World Needs Now: Stan Getz Plays Bacharach and David (1967)
- Marakesh Express (1969)
- Dynasty (1971)
- Communications '72 (1971)
- Captain Marvel (1972)
- But Beautiful (1974)
- The Best of Two Worlds Featuring Joao Gilberto (1975)
- The Peacocks (1975)
- The Master (1975)
- Live at Montmartre (1977)
- Another World (1977)
- At Montreux (Live) (1977)
- Children of the World (1978)
- Forest Eyes (1979)
- Stan Getz (1979) (1979)
- Live at Midem '80 (1980)
- Autumn Leaves (1980)
- Stan Getz Live (1980)
- The Dolphin (Live) (1981)
- Spring Is Here (1981)
- Billy Highstreet Samba (1981)
- Pure Getz (1982)
- Blue Skies (1982)
- Live in Paris (1982)
- Poetry (1983)
- Line for Lyons (1983)
- The Stockholm Concert (Live) (1983)
- Voyage (1986)
- Serenity (Live) (1987)
- The Lyrical Stan Getz (1988)
- Just Friends (1989)
- Yours and Mine: Live at the Glasgow International Jazz Festival 1989 (1989)
- Soul Eyes (1989)
- Apasionado (1989)
- Live (1990)
- People Time (Live) (1991)
- Sextet Utopia (1992)
- Sweetie Pie (1993)
- Yesterday (1994)
- Out of Nowhere (1994)
- Utopia (1995)
- Nobody Else But Me (1995)
- Pennies from Heaven (1996)
- Stan's Party (Live) (1996)
- Cool Velvet (Japan) (1998)
- Quintessence, Vol. 1 (Live) (1999)
- Live in 1956-57 (1999)
- Quintessence, Vol. 2 (Live) (2000)
- Immortal Concerts: Storyville, Boston October 1951 (2000)
- Immortal Concerts: Autumn Leaves (Live) (2000)
- Live on the Riviera (2000)
- And the Angels Swing (2001)
- Fall '61 (2002)
- Getz for Lovers (2002)
- Getz Plays Jobim: The Girl from Ipanema (2002)
- Jazz in Paris: Stan Getz Quartet In Paris (Live) (2002)
- At Storyville (Live) (2002)
- Stan Getz and Cal Tjader Sextet (2002)
- Body & Soul (2002)
- Intoit (2002)
- Stan Getz and the Cool Sounds (2002 Reissue) (2002)
- Stan Getz and João Gilberto Featuring Antonio Carl (2002)
Sources
All Music Guide http://www.allmusic.com
http://www.duke.edu/~lmw4/