JazzWax: #StanGetz in L.A.: 1953 and '55

JazzWax: Stan Getz in L.A.: 1953 and '55 - In April 1953, Stan Getz was in New York recording for Norman Granz'... https://t.co/wJoWqAlQS5

— Jazz News (@JazzNewsNY) October 26, 2016

#StevieWonder Meets #StanGetz

I added a video to a @YouTube playlist https://t.co/r9WTnr6fbV Stevie Wonder Meets Stan Getz

— jazzbreak (@JazzBreak1) August 14, 2016

Stan Getz / João Gilberto '76

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Stan Getz wasn't comfortable with the bossa nova. When he flew down to Washington, D.C., from New York in February 1962 with Verve producer Creed Taylor to record Jazz Samba, he did it as a favor to Creed. Guitarist Charlie Byrd needed a big name on the album to help give it a shot at the Billboard charts. Creed was right. When Jazz Samba was released in 1963, the album went to No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, and Getz won the Grammy in 1964 for Best Jazz Performance for the album's Desafinado track. Getz didn't even bother attending the Grammys; his wife Monica picked up the award for him.

By the early 1960s, Getz was one of the most in-demand jazz tenor saxophonists. He had worked relentlessly since the 1940s to achieve his new-found status as a jazz performing and recording giant. At age 35, he had won the admiration of his peers and reached a point where he could record whatever jazz albums he wanted with whomever he wished, a jazz musician's dream.

Getz detested pop. Increasingly self-conscious that his relaxed saxophone sound could be misinterpreted as laid back, he worried he might wind up in the same boat as the equally relaxed cornetist and trumpeter Bobby Hackett, who had spent most of his later years recording movie themes and pop hits of the day backed by strings. So as Getz's lucrative bossa nova workload increased following Jazz Samba, he told Creed he wanted to record straight-up jazz in between the samba albums. Creed was fine with that. [Photo above of Rudy Van Gelder, left, and Creed Taylor recording Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, Gary Burton and others at New York's Café Au Go Go on May 22, 1964]

But Getz's fate was sealed in April 1964. Following the release of Getz/Gilberto, a perfect bossa nova expression and perhaps one of the most beautiful albums ever recorded in any genre, it won three Grammy Awards in 1965, including the much coveted Album of the Year and Song of the Year (for The Girl From Ipanema). For the album, Creed had paired Getz with Antonio Carlos Jobim (p) and João Gilberto (g) along with Tommy Williams (b) and Milton Banana (d). During the session, as a lark, Astrud Gilberto, João's wife at the time, agreed to sing The Girl From Ipanema and Corcovado, since she sang in both English and Portuguese.

From Getz/Gilberto on, Getz would become better known for his jazzy samba recordings than any of his earlier jazz efforts. Of course, Getz's unease with the bossa nova didn't stop him from reuniting with João Gilberto several times over the years when he needed money. In fact, part of his reason for recording Jazz Samba in 1962 and the early bossa nova albums that followed was to pay off an IRS debt after skipping off to Denmark in the late 1950 to avoid back taxes.

One of those Getz-Gilberto meetings was The Best of Two Worlds, recorded in the studio for Columbia in May 1975. When the album was released the following year, Getz and Gilberto went out on tour. One of their stops was a week-long stay at Todd Barkan's Keystone Korner in San Francisco in May 1976. [Photo above of Todd Barkan in the 1970s]

Now, Resonance Records has made 13 tracks from the Keystone Korner sessions available for the first time on Getz/Gilberto '76, which smartly features an abstract illustration by the late Olga Albizu, whose work graced the cover of Getz/Gilberto in 1964. The new album features João Gilberto, on vocal and guitar, accompanied by by Getz (ts), Joanne Brackeen (p), Clint Houston (b) and Billy Hart (d).

When I first listened to the new album, I must confess that I had a hard time adjusting to the music. My ear kept expecting something in the mid-range—Astrud Gilberto's voice, perhaps, or Gary Burton's vibes. Between Getz's dominant horn on the bottom and Gilberto's tissue-thin vocals and acoustic guitar on top, the middle seemed bare. Then I put the album on early one morning this week, at 4:30 a.m., when I began my day. In the pitch quiet, I totally fell in love with the music and understood its beauty. Sometimes what you love depends on the time of day you consume it and whether your ear's "palate" is free from the day's other sounds.

What makes Getz/Gilberto '76 special is Gilberto's tender voice, which forces you to sit forward to hear it. The album is really Gilberto's, with Getz jumping in for solos. As a result, it's more of a Brazilian folk album, featuring the earthy, breathy vocal expressions of a bossa nova founding father. Gilberto sings passionately and sensitively throughout in Portuguese, giving the music an exotic air. For kicks, I also listened to The Best of Two Worlds. The new live album, with its hushed intimacy and idling drama, is far superior. Another gem from George Klabin and Fran Gala, co-produced by Zev Feldman and Todd Barkan. A joy to have yet another bossa nova entry in the Getz discography

JazzWax tracks. You'll find Getz/Gilberto '76 (Resonance) here. For more information about the album, go here.

JazzWax clip: Here's Doralice from the album (that's Getz chiming in to finish the vocal at the end)...

Doralice

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Stan Getz on Roost: 1950-52

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

On May 17, 1950, Stan Getz began recording for the Roost label as leader. On that date, Getz was backed by Al Haig (p), Tommy Potter (b) and Roy Haynes (d), and the quartet recorded six sides. Over the next two years, Getz recorded 59 tracks in all for the label, including quartet and quintet studio sessions, live quartet and quintet dates, material with guitarist Johnny Smith and three sides with Count Basie. They remain among my favorite Getz recordings. [Stan Getz, above, in the early 1950s]

Getz's first session as a leader was in 1946, when he headed up a group billed as the Be-Bop Boys for Savoy—Hank Jones (p), Curly Russell (b) and Max Roach (d). He also led bop sessions in 1948 and '49. In mid-1949, he recorded as a leader for Prestige, the so-called Long Island Soundsession, which was followed by three more dates for the label in 1950.

Roost was founded in 1948 by Monte Kay, who promoted acts at the Royal Roost nightclub. The label was bought out in Sept. 1949 by Sammy Kaye, one of the owners of the Three Deuces, and Jack Hook, a record promoter for United Music. Teddy Reig also became a partner and head of A&R along the way.

The appeal of the Roost sessions stems from Getz's gifts as a sensitive swinger and balladeer. Like Lester Young, Getz played his tenor sax high on up on the instrument's register, which enchants the ear. Getz's tone was dry and bright, and he routinely left strategic gaps of space, allowing the ear to catch up before giving his horn the gas to race ahead of the heart. As for phrasing, Getz emulated the singing sound of many female pop vocalists in the late 1940s like Margaret Whiting, Peggy Lee and June Christy. [Stan Getz, above, with Lester Young]

Getz's melodic modernism is unrivaled at this point. Solos on songs like Potter's Luck, Split Kick, Parker 51, Hershey Bar and Tootsie Roll illustrate his drive and daredevil approach to improvisation. He had a delicate, commanding touch and a lyrical sensibility on the Roost material that has all the charm of a salesman selling you something you thought you didn't need. He's insistent but never pushy. [Stan Getz, above, in the early 1950s]

Ultimately, what we hear is the ambitious sound of Getz before stardom. That moment would come with his Roost recording of Moonlight in Vermont as part of the Johnny Smith Quintet in March 1952. The cool, jazz-pop rendition of the standard would send Smith's 10-inch album climb to No. 1 and turn Getz into a small-group leader and solo artist without rival.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Stan Getz's Complete Roost Recordings here. Or just the quartet and quintet sessions here.

JazzWax clip: Here's Stan Getz playing Horace Silver's Potter's Luck...

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Stan Getz: Five Rare Videos

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Like a jewel thief, Stan Getz had a way of climbing inside a song without disturbing its wiring. Getz tended to play in the upper register of the tenor sax—the range that's most seductive rather than bossy—and used the lower register for to kick off surges and to create contrast. When the song's melody and Getz's sound and tempo were just right (Time on My Hands, Stella by Starlight), the results were impossibly romantic and seductive. So as it poured here yesterday, I listened to a wide range of his recordings. In the spirit of sharing, here are five rare Getz videos I found at YouTube...

With Donald Byrd in 1957...

With Flora Purim in 1969...

With his quartet—Gary Burton (vibes), Steve Swallow (bass) and Roy Haynes (drums)—in 1966 in London playing Jive Hoot, which Bob Brookmeyer wrote for Getz...

With Nat Cole and Roy Eldridge in 1957, introduced by Norman Granz...

With Chet Baker in 1983...

- See more at: http://www.jazzwax.com/2014/04/stan-getz-five-rare-videos.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29#sthash.eL9bx6RC.dpuf

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Stan Getz and Chet Baker 1983

Cybill Shepherd....

" Mad About the Boy " Cybill Shepherd (vo) Stan Getz (ts) Frank Rosolino (tb) Terry Trotter (pf) Monty Budwig (b) etc. Crepuscule 1976