Stan Getz 

1927-1991
tenor saxophone

For decades Stan Getz was one of America's top tenor saxophone players. His main early influence was Lester Young, but he grew up to become a major influence on future generations of sax players in his own right. His instantly recognisable tone and his polished playing earned him the nickname "The Sound". Getz was a remarkably consistent performer rarely lacking in inspiration, always delivering the goods when it mattered.

Stan Getz was born in Philadelphia in 1927 into a family originally from Russia. The family moved to the Bronx in New York when he was still young. He was a teenager in WW II and received a thourough training in the big bands of  Jack Teagarden, Stan Kenton (1944-45), Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey  and Woody Herman (1947). It was during this last period (with the Herman Band) that he became a star, soloing (alongside Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward and Serge Chaloff) on the original version of "Four Brothers". He also scored a major success with his pellucid solo on Ralph Burns' Early Autumn. Early in the 1950s with his own group Getz became a front runner of what was called the "West Coast" movement. Notable are the two quartets he formed in 50-51, the first of which featured Charlie Parker's rhythm scetion; Al Haig, Roy Haynes and Tony Potter. The second quartet introduced Horace Silver. The Roost Quartets recording made with these two units are highly regarde until this day. From 1952 until 1967 Getz recorded a remarkable string of albums for Verve, featuring colleagues such as J.J. Johnson, Gerry Mulligan and Oscar Peterson. During the second half of the 1950s his career was interrupted because of narcotics problems and for three years (1958-61) he lived in Copenhagen, Denmark. When he returned he resumed his relationship with the Verve label and with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic, touring widely in the US and Europe. World-wide popularity came later in the 60s through his move into Brazillian music and Latin rhythms. This resulted in a highly popular series of recordings, in a style that became known as bossa nova. Getz's version of "Desafinado" from the album Jazz Samba with Charlie Byrd was a huge hit, but it was his collaboration with Joao Gilberto on the album Getz / Gilberto that was his biggest seller, mainly because of "The Girl from Ipanema" featuring the vocals of Astrud Gilberto. Very soon after this Latin period, Getz changed direction and decided to play more challenging Jazz. Notable collaborations with Bill Evans (1964) Elvin Jones and Chick Corea (1967) in particular need mentioning. He experimented with fusion, but returned to acoustic Jazz upon signing with Concord in 1981. His final recording People Time (Verve 510-823) is a brilliant duet set with pianist Kenny Barron. Stan Getz died in 1991.

Verve