What’s the first tune you think of when you hear Getz’s name? It’s The Girl from Ipanema, isn’t it? A Brazilian bossa nova song, Getz and João Gilberto recorded it on their 1963 album, simply titled Getz/Gilberto with Gilberto and his wife Astrud sharing the vocals. Getz went on to have a worldwide hit with Astrud singing.
Listen to their original here: https://youtu.be/Nim7Xs41UJo
Getz doesn’t even make an appearance on the track until over two and a half minutes in. But when he does – his tone is breathy and soft, redolent of Lester Young, one of his major influences.
However, there is so much more to the man than a single track!
Born in 1927 in Philadelphia, the Getz family moved to New York during the Depression. Young Getz worked hard at school and got his first saxophone aged 13. From the age of 16, he began playing in Jack Teagarden’s band, going on to play in many of the major bands during the 1940s: Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and more. He earned a soloist spot with Benny Herman in the decade’s later years, enabling him to launch his solo career.
Another profile-raising opportunity came in 1952, when Getz played with guitarist Johnny Smith in his quintet. The single Moonlight in Vermont became a rare (for jazz) and huge hit record.
Listen to it here: https://youtu.be/gRNpc-hFkCs
I n the 1950s, Stan played a lot of cool jazz with some of the greats of the time, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie and many others.
Listen to Pennies from Heaven – with the Oscar Peterson Trio here: https://youtu.be/-_lIEU7mz8s
It was as a populariser of the bossa nova style in the 1960s that he continued to have great success. However Verve, his record label didn’t like his 1984 jazz album with a new quartet, too different, it wouldn’t be released until after he died. He continued to perform and record through the 1980s, including a guest spot on Huey Lewis & the News’s Small World.
Watch that here: http://stangetz.ning.com/video/2085102:Video:4315
Getz’s sound and set-up:
Stan had a very soft airy sound, because of the unusually hard reeds he used. He coupled this with an incredibly lyrical ability of weaving his way through solos, like his major influence Lester Young. His fantastic ability to musically compliment singers and other soloists made him a popular person to have as a guest on albums.
His set-up 1986-1991: Sax Selmer Mk VI. Mouthpiece -Otto Link Tone edge Early Babbitt 5*, Rico 3 ½ – 4 ½ or Vandoren 3 ½
Getz’s personal life was complicated by addiction to drugs and alcohol. He had five children, three by his first wife, also an addict, then two by his second wife, Monica who was Swedish. His access over the years was subject to various orders due to his addiction and possession of guns at times. He died of liver cancer in 1991, and his ashes were poured off the California coast from his saxophone case.
In terms of the Google’s most searched saxophonists he is equal 8th with Candy Dulfer, with 9900 monthly searches in the US.
Pay Per Course- The famous beginner Alto Sax eBooks
Saxophone for beginners-This ebook has 6 stages in the course, and it will take you from ZERO to HERO in a very short amount of time. Now you’ll have the benefit of a tested and retested learning method! I promise you FAST and EASY progress, and you’ll have a lot of FUN during the process 🙂 The 6 ebooks in the series, each have 30 pieces of music, most of which are linked to videos with demos, explanations and written music to play-along. After you´re done learning the song, I play it with you at a slow and comfortable tempo, and you´ll always have an easy time putting it into practical use.
