Stan Getz Music

Antes de voltarmos a falar do jazz no Chile, precisamos apresentar aquilo que vamos denominar de `segunda fase' de Stan Getz. Já sabemos que, entre 1943 e 1949, Getz passou por um importante período de aprendizagem com alguns dos mestres do swing: aos 16 anos toca com Jack Teagarden. Em seguida, com Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey e Benny Goodman. Finalmente, parte para a banda de Woody Herman, com a qual produz duas importantes gravações: Four Brothers e Early Autumn. Considerado por muitos como um ótimo imitador de Lester Young, Getz percebe que, nesse dúbio elogio, encontrava-se também uma espécie de crítica mordaz em relação à sua capacidade inventiva e à sua personalidade própria. Disposto a mostrar que era capaz de vencer limitações e construir um estilo próprio, dotado de uma sonoridade personalíssima, parte em direção a um projeto que, mais tarde, lhe valeria a alcunha de The Sound, por ter estabelecido o som mais bonito que muitos já puderam ouvir de um sax tenor. A segunda fase de Getz, então, constitui-se do estudo, domínio e manuseio do bebop, o mais novo idioma negro produzido na costa leste.
A linguagem complexa desse novo estilo estava sendo definida por gente como Dizzy Gillespie e Charlie Parker, entre outros, como Kenny Clarke e Thelonious Monk, dois estilistas autônomos do movimento. O requisito básico da aventura bop era o virtuosismo, coisa que Getz detinha e outros não, como, por exemplo, Miles Davis. Depois de levar surras homéricas de Gillespie e Parker, Miles afundou-se na heroína e inventou o tal de jazz modal, um sistema onde até mesmo uma velhinha desdentada de 90 anos é capaz de improvisar horas a fio. Getz, ao contrário, encarou o desafio com os peso-pesados do bop, destilando frases complexas e velozes através de uma sonoridade etérea, sedutora e ímpar, imediatamente reconhecível. Em termos de gravações, podemos dizer que essa `segunda fase' de Getz vai de 1949 - quando grava o excelente Stan Getz Quartets - até 1956, quando grava o emblemático álbum For Musicians Only, com Sonny Stitt (as), Dizzy Gillespie (t), Herb Ellis (g), John Lewis (p) e Ray Brown (b).

In this period of Stan Getz career, very late 40's and early 50's there must be some 20 CD's available with overlapping selections. So It's hard to recommend one over another. Many of the selections on this CD are also on the "Complete Roost Sessions", "Prezervation", etc. The Europeans do not recognize our copyrights and only extend original copyrights for 50 years. So as far as they are concerned, these performances are now in the public domain, the artist or the artist estate get no royalties, and anyone who feels like it can put out a copy.

So how is it? Wonderful. Stan with Al Haig mostly, who is, after maybe Kenny Barron, his greatest accompaning pianist. Haig and Getz could play complex bebop with the fastest of them, but had a cool and romantically lyrical side missing from their contemporaries. Listen to "Too Marvellous for Words" for an example of this.

If you don't have it on another CD (check recording dates to see) this is a good sampling from Stan's early, Cool(est) period.

Recording quality? what can you expect from 1950?

I bought this as an LP while stationed in Japan in 1962. It took me about two months just to turn it over, because the songs on side one blew me away. I was so affected by Getz's playing that I bought a tenor saxophone and subjected the rest of the guys living in the barracks to my practicing. I shudder to remember doing that. I wasn't ever very good at it.

But Getz was good at it. His later stuff is very pretty, but this recording is not only pretty, it shows Getz at a time when he had a muscular edge to his playing. He was young and on fire. I have since heard other collections of his early things that come close, but as this is my first love, nothing else quite measures up. 'You Stepped Out Of A Dream' was my favorite on the album. In about 1982 I saw Stan at Keystone Korner in San Francisco. At a slow moment between tunes I called out that title and they played it for me. It was one of the high points of my life.

If you buy it, I believe you will thank me. But you might have to listen to it for two months first. Who knows? The other players on this are outstanding. The piano player is particularly fine, but I've forgotten his name and am too lazy to walk downstairs to read the CD case.

This album delivers samples of some of Stan Getz's most beautiful ballad playing from the 50's through the Bossa Nova years and into the 70'. Getz, whose career spanned nearly a half-century was a one-of-a-kind tenor saxophonist. On up-tempos he swung with with such drive that Oscar Peterson called him "Stanley the Steamer", but on ballads he was a master story-teller, creating a tonality which is instantly recognizable and which has never been duplicated. John Coltrane said of Getz's tone, "We'd all play that way if we could." Great as these samples are, Getz's playing, especially on ballads, continued to deepen in its emotional scope throughout his career. This compilation could have included a sample or two of Stan's ballads from his last years when his stories took on the bitter-sweet tone of an aging poet.

Want to own a couple of Wardell Gray and Paul Quinichette small group recordings? Here's some fairly rare ones! Paul replaced Wardell in the Basie band, so I've heard them in big bands before, but until now had no combo records of either. The other two sax men represented here are better known and well represented in my library.

Stan Getz left the Woody Herman herd in 1949 and recorded with pianist Al Haig's sextet in '49-'50. Four fairly short cuts from that group show up on this collection of Dawn label "rarities". Getz shows his bop side on "Skull Buster" and his better known lyrical side on "Pennies From Heaven". Al Haig on piano and Jimmy Raney on guitar contribute tasty fills and solos.

Zoot Sims was one of the Four Brothers in Herman's Herd alongside Stan Getz. Six tunes from a well rehearsed 1956 Sims quintet round out this 14 cut CD. Zoot generally shines above these other sax men, although all are enjoyable. Wardell Gray and Paul Quinichette were no slouches at all, but occasionally play a somewhat questionable note - something that Zoot very, very rarely did. Sims grabs an alto for "The Big Stampede"- a very boppish tune reminiscent of Bird and Diz. "Too Close For Comfort" also showcases Zoot's soaring alto sax.

All in all - if you enjoy saxy small combo jazz, especially the easy to enjoy 1950's variety - mostly cool - you will enjoy this CD of hard to find Dawn label material.