The American tenor saxophonist Stan Getz (1927-1991) remains the most popular performer on this instruments in the history of jazz. His warm and gentle tone, which earned him the nickname „The Sound“, was mainly inspired by “Pres(ident)” Lester Young (1909-1959), who offered a lyrical alternative to the more robust approach of Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969), the first great tenor stylist.
Getz started his career at the age of 16 in the band of trombonist Jack Teagarden and went on to play in the big bands of Stan Kenton, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey. From 1947 to 1949 he formed the “Four Brothers”, the saxophone section of the Woody Herman Big Band with Serge Chaloff, Zoot Sims and Herbie Stewart, and recorded his first hit „Early Autumn“. Getz later became the most popular soloist of Cool Jazz along with trumpeter Chet Baker, but also played with all the greats of swing and bebop over the years. For while he also shared the rhythm section of Al Haig, Tommy Potter, and Roy Haynes with Charlie Parker.
Getz was involved with the producer and jazz impressario Norman Granz and his various labels for a long time, which resulted not only in a host of albums by Getz and his trios, but also quite a few exciting encounters – live and in the studio – with the greatest soloists from the 50s and 60s, many of which make up the core of this box set. Among them are a few albums, that are not so well known, such as the wonderfully relaxed LP “Like Somebody in Love” with Ella Fitzgerald or Herb Ellis’ album „Nothing but the Blues“, which omits the obligatory piano and presents an unusual and exciting frontline with Roy Eldridge and Getz. Stan Getz’s quintets with trombonists Jay Jay Johnson and Bob Brookmeyer, as different as they are wonderful, also demonstrate the stylistic versatility and dreamlike sense of security of this extraordinary virtuoso.
International success came with the great Bossa Nova albums of the 60s, which are represented here with the albums „Jazz Samba“ and „Big Band Bossa Nova“.
CD 1
■ Stan Getz Meets Chet Baker
Stan Meets Chet
1. I’ll Remember April 12.24
(Gene de Paul, Patricia Johnston, Don Raye)
2. Autumn in New York / Embraceable You / What’s New? 14.34
(Vernon Duke, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Bob Haggart,
Johnny Burke)
3. Jordu (Duke Jordan) 8.31
4. Half-Breed Apache (Ray Noble) 14.50
Chet Baker (tp: except track 3) Stan Getz (ts) Jodie Christian (p)
Victor Sproles (b) Marshall Thompson (drs)
Recorded in Chicago, IL, on February 16, 1958
■ At Royal Roost
5. On the Alamo (Gus Kahn, Isham Jones) 2.46
6. Gone with the Wind (Allie Wrubel, Herbert Magidson) 2.57
7. Yesterdays (Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach) 2.49
8. Sweetie Pie (Stan Getz) 2.32
9. You Go to My Head (J. Fred Coots) 3.02
10. Hershey Bar (Stan Getz) 2.38
Stan Getz (ts) Al Haig (p) Tommy Potter (b) Roy Haynes (drs)
Recorded in New York City on May 17, 1950
Total Time 67.25
CD 2
■ Stan Getz / Lionel Hampton
Hamp And Getz
1. Cherokee (Ray Noble) 9.19
2. Ballad Medley: Tenderly / Autumn in New York / 8.12
East of the Sun (and West of the Moon) / I Can’t Get Started
(Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence / Vernon Duke / Brooks Bowman
Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin)
3. Louise (Leo Robin, Richard A. Whiting) 6.51
4. Jumpin’ at the Woodside (Count Basie) 8.28
5. Gladys (Lionel Hampton) 7.47
Stan Getz (ts) Lionel Hampton (vibes) Lou Levy (p)
Leroy Vinnegar (b) Shelly Manne (drs)
Recorded in Hollywood, CA, on August 1, 1955
■ Gerry Mulligan Meets Stan Getz
6. Let’s Fall in Love (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) 6.30
7. Anything Goes (Cole Porter) 3.39
8. Too Close for Comfort 6.59
(Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, George David Weiss)
9. That Old Feeling (Sammy Fain, Lew Brown) 6.00
10. This Can’t Be Love (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 8.49
11. A Ballad (Gerry Mulligan) 5.44
Gerry Mulligan (brs: 9-11, ts: 6-8) Stan Getz (ts: 9-11, brs: 6-8)
Lou Levy (b) Ray Brown (b) Stan Levey (drs)
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA, on October 12, 1957
Total Time 78.28
CD 3
■ Dizzy Gillespie / Stan Getz
Diz And Getz
1. It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) 6.39
(Duke Ellington, Irving Mills)
2. I Let a Song Go out of My Heart 6.17
(Ellington, Henry Nemo, Mills)
3. Exactly Like You 4.59
(Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields)
4. It’s the Talk of the Town 6.47
(Al J. Neiberg, Jerry Livingston, Marty Symes)
5. Impromptu 7.49
(Dizzy Gillespie)
6. One Alone 3.02
(D. Gillespie)
7. Girl of My Dreams 3.18
(Sunny Clapp)
8. Siboney Part 1 4.24
(Theodora Morse, Ernesto Lecuona)
9. Siboney Part 2 4.10
(Theodora Morse, Ernesto Lecuona)
Dizzy Gillespie (tp) Stan Getz (ts) Herb Ellis (git)
Oscar Peterson (p) Ray Brown (b) Max Roach (dr)
Recorded on December 9, 1953 in Los Angeles, CA,
and May 25, 1954 in New York
Total Time 47.45
CD 4
■ Stan Getz / Cal Tjader Sextet
1. I’ve Grown 3.59
Accustomed to Her Face
(Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick
Loewe)
2. For All We Know 5.44
(J. Fred Coots, Sam Lewis)
3. Ginza Samba 11.00
(Vince Guaraldi)
4. Crow’s Nest (Cal Tjader) 8.21
5. Liz Anne (C. Tjader) 3.48
6. Big Bear (C. Tjader) 4.35
7. My Buddy 5.14
(Gus Kahn, Walter Donaldson)
Cal Tjader (vibes) Stan Getz (ts)
Eddie Duran (git) Vince Guaraldi (p)
Scott LaFaro (b) Billy Higgins (drs)
Recorded in San Francisco, CA, 1958
■ Stan Getz / Gary McFarland
Big Band Bossa Nova
8. Manhã de Carnaval 5.50
(Morning of the Carnival)
(Luiz Bonfá)
9. Balanço no Samba 2.59
(Street Dance)
(Gary McFarland)
10. Melancólico (Melancholy) 4.42
(Gary McFarland)
11. Entre Amigos 2.59
(Sympathy Between Friends)
(Gary McFarland)
12. Chega de Saudade 4.11
(No More Blues) (Antônio Carlos
Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes)
13. Noite Triste 4.58
(Night Sadness) (Gary McFarland)
14. Samba de Uma Nota Só 3.28
(One Note Samba) (Antônio Carlos
Jobim, Newton Mendonça)
15. Bim Bom (João Gilberto) 4.31
Stan Getz (ts) Doc Severinsen, Bernie
Glow or Joe Ferrante, Clark Terry or
Nick Travis (tp) Ray Alonge (frh)
Bob Brookmeyer or Willie Dennis (tb)
Tony Studd (b-tb) Gerald Sanfino or
Ray Beckenstein (fl) Ed Caine (a-fl)
Ray Beckenstein and / or Babe Clark
and / or Walt Levinsky (cl) Romeo
Penque (b-cl) Jim Hall (git)
Hank Jones (p) Tommy Williams (b)
Johnny Rae (drs) José Paulo (tambourine)
Carmen Costa (cabasa)
Gary McFarland (arranger, conductor)
Recorded in New York City on August 27
and 28, 1962 Total Time 76.37
CD 5
■ Stan Getz And
The Oscar Peterson Trio
1. I Want to Be Happy 7.35
(Irving Caesar, Vincent
Youmans)
2. Pennies from Heaven 5.19
(Arthur Johnston, Johnny
Burke)
3. Ballad Medley: 10.13
Bewitched, Bothered and
Bewildered / I Don’t Know
Why (I Just Do) / How Long
Has This Been Going On? /
I Can’t Get Started / Polka
Dots and Moonbeams
(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz
Hart) / (Fred E. Ahlert, Roy Turk)
/ (George Gershwin,
Ira Gershwin) / (Vernon Duke,
I. Gershwin) / (Jimmy Van
Heusen, Burke)
4. I’m Glad There Is You 4.41
(Jimmy Dorsey, Paul Mertz)
5. Tour’s End (Stan Getz) 4.58
6. I Was Doing All Right 4.09
(G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin)
7. Bronx Blues (Getz) 5.33
Stan Getz (ts) Oscar Peterson (p)
Herb Ellis (git) Ray Brown (b)
Recorded in Holywood, CA,
on October 10, 1957
■ Stan Getz / Charlie Byrd
Jazz Samba
8. Desafinado 5.52
(Antônio Carlos Jobim,
Newton Mendonça)
9. Samba Dees Days 3.35
(Charlie Byrd)
10. O Pato 2.32
(Jayme Silva, Neuza Teixeira)
11. Samba Triste 4.48
(Baden Powell, Billy Blanco)
12. Samba de Uma Nota Só 6.13
(Antônio Carlos Jobim,
Newton Mendonça)
13. É Luxo Só (Ary Barroso) 3.43
14. Bahia (aka ‘Baia’) 6.42
(Ary Barroso)
Stan Getz (ts) Charlie Byrd (git)
Gene Byrd (git, b) Keter Betts (b)
Buddy Deppenschmidt,
Bill Reichenbach Sr. (drs, perc)
Recorded at Studio Pierce Hall, All Souls
Unitarian Church, Washington, D.C.,
on February 13, 1962
Total Time 76.14
CD 6
■ Ella Fitzgerald feat. Stan Getz
Like Someone in Love
1. There’s a Lull in My Life 3.29
(Mack Gordon, Harry Revel)
2. More Than You Know 3.18
(Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose,
Vincent Youmans)
3. What Will I Tell My 3.32
Heart? (Irving Gordon,
Jack Lawrence, Peter Tinturin)
4. I Never Had A Chance
5. Close Your Eyes 2.58
(Bernice Petkere)
6. We’ll Be Together Again 3.23
(Carl T. Fischer, Frankie Laine)
7. Then I’ll Be Tired of You 3.16
(Yip Harburg, Arthur Schwartz)
8. Like Someone in Love 3.12
(Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen
9. Midnight Sun 3.59
(Sonny Burke, Lionel Hampton,
Johnny Mercer)
10. I Thought About You 2.56
(Mercer, Van Heusen)
11. You’re Blasé 4.00
(Ord Hamilton, Bruce Sievier)
12. Night Wind 3.20
(Lew Pollack, Bob Rothberg)
13. What’s New? 3.09
(Johnny Burke, Bob Haggart)
14. Hurry Home 4.42
(Buddy Bernier, Bob Emmerich,
Joseph Meyer)
15. How Long Has This 5.51
Been Going On?
(G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin)
Ella Fitzgerald (voc) acc. by Frank
DeVol and his orchestra, Ted Nash
(as) Stan Getz (ts)
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA,
October 15, 1957
■ Billie Holiday with Stan Getz
Bonus Tracks
16. You´re Drivin’ Me Crazy 1.32
(Walter Donaldson)
17. Lover Come Back to Me 2.21
(Sigmund Romberg, Oscar
Hammerstein II)
18. Ain’t Nobody’s Business 2.20
If I Do (Porter Grainger,
Everett Robbins )
19. Billie’s Blues (Billie Holiday) 3.08
20. Miss Brown to You 1.48
(Richard A. Whiting, Ralph Rainger,
Leo Robin)
21. Detour Ahead (Herb Ellis, 2.21
John Frigo, and Lou Carter)
22. Strange Fruit 3.26
(Abel Meeropol)
23. All of Me 1.41
(Gerald Marks, Seymour Simons )
24. I Loves You Porgy 3.07
(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
Billie Holiday (voc) Stan Getz (ts)
Buster Harding (p) John Fields (b)
Marquis Foster (drs)
Recorded at Storyville Jazzclub,
Boston, MO, on October 29, 1951
Total Time 75.51
CD 7
■ Stan Getz / Dizzy Gillespie / Sonny Stitt
For Musicians Only
1. Be-Bop (Dizzy Gillespie) 12.47
2. Wee (Allen´s Alley) (Denzil Best, Dizzy Gillespie) 8.27
3. Dark Eyes (PD) 12.06
4. Lover Come Back to Me (Oscar Hammerstein II, S. Romberg) 9.31
Dizzy Gillespie (tp) Sonny Stitt (as) Stan Getz (ts) Herb Ellis (git)
John Lewis (p) Ray Brown (b) Stan Levey (dr)
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA, October 16, 1956
■ Stan Getz – Plays
5. Stella by Starlight (Victor Young, Ned Washington) 2.43
6. Time on My Hands 2.57
(Vincent Youmans, Harold Adamson, Mack Gordon)
7. ‘Tis Autumn (Henry Nemo) 3.13
8. The Way You Look Tonight (Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields) 3.02
9. Lover, Come Back to Me 2.56
(Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II)
10. Body and Soul 3.16
(Johnny Green, Frank Eyton, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour)
11. Stars Fell on Alabama (Frank Perkins. Mitchell Parish) 3.23
12. You Turned the Tables on Me (Louis Alter, Sidney D. Mitchell) 2.57
13. Thanks for the Memory (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin) 3.19
14. Hymn of the Orient (Gigi Gryce) 2.54
15. These Foolish Things (Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey, Harry Link) 3.22
16. How Deep Is the Ocean? (Irving Berlin) 2.50
Stan Getz (ts) Jimmy Raney (git) Duke Jordan (p) Bill Crow (b)
Frank Isola (drs) Recorded in New York City on December 12 & 29, 1952
Total Time 79’59
CD 8
■ Coleman Hawkins / Stan Getz / Paul Gonsalves
Sittin´ In
1. Dizzy Atmosphere (Dizzy Gillespie) 10.54
2. I’m Thru’ with Love / Without a Word of Warning / 10.55
Sweet Lorraine / Love Walked In / September Song
(Gus Kahn, Fud Livingston, Matty Malneck)/(Mack Gordon,
Harry Revel) / (Cliff Burwell, Mitchell Parish) /
(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) / (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson)
3. On the Alamo / Stompin’ at the Savoy / This Time 12.23
the Dream’s on Me / Time After Time / Gone with the Wind
(Kahn, Isham Jones) / (Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman,
Chick Webb, Andy Razaf) / (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) /
(Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) / (Herb Magidson, Allie Wrubel)
4. The Way You Look Tonight (Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields) 13.34
Coleman Hawkins, Paul Gonsalves, Stan Getz (ts)
Wynton Kelly (p) Wendell Marshall (b) J.C. Heard (drs)
Recorded at WOR Recording Studio, New York City, on June 26, 1957
Total Time 47.53
CD 9
■ Stan Getz / Bob Brookmeyer
Recorded Fall 1961
1. Minuet Circa ’61 (Bob Brookmeyer) 10.39
2. Who Could Care? (Brookmeyer) 4.47
3. Nice Work If You Can Get It 5.58
(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
4. Thump, Thump, Thump (Brookmeyer) 6.53
5. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square 7.00
(Eric Maschwitz, Manning Sherwin)
6. Love Jumped Out (Buck Clayton) 7.48
Stan Getz (ts) Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone)
Steve Kuhn (p) John Neves (b) Roy Haynes (drs)
Recorded in New York City on September 12 and 13, 1961
■ Stan Getz And J.J. Johnson
At The Opera House
7. Billie’s Bounce (Charlie Parker) 9.46
8. My Funny Valentine (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 8.11
9. Crazy Rhythm 7.59
(Joseph Meyer, Roger Wolf Kahn, Irving Ceasar)
10. Blues in the Closet (Oscar Pettiford) 9.04
J.J. Johnson (tb) Stan Getz (ts) Oscar Peterson (p)
Herb Ellis (g) Ray Brown (b) Connie Kay (dr)
Recorded in Chicago, IL, on October 19, 1957
Total Time 78.15
CD 10
■ Herb Ellis
Nothing But The Blues
1. Pap’s Blues (Raymond Matthews “Ray” Brown) 7.09
2. Big Red’s Boogie Woogie (Herbert Mitchell, “Herb” Ellis) 5.42
3. Tin Roof Blues (Paul Mares, Ben Pollack, 3.03
Mel Stitzel, George Brunies, Leon Roppolo)
4. Soft Winds (Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman) 6.04
5. Royal Garden Blues (Clarence Williams, Spencer Williams) 4.49
6. Patti Cake (Ellis) 6.04
7. Blues for Janet (Ellis, Brown) 7.16
8. Blues for Junior (Brown) 4.52
Herb Ellis (git) Roy Eldridge (tp) Stan Getz (ts) Ray Brown (b) Stan Levey (drs)
Recorded in Hollywood, CA on October 11 and 12, 1957
■ Norman Granz – Jam Session # 3
9. Apple Jam (Count Basie) 12.01
10. Ballad Medley: a) Indian Summer – Willie Smith 13.30
(Victor Herbert) b) Willow Weep for Me – Stan Getz (Ann Ronell)
c) If I Had You – Harry Edison (Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly,
Ted Shapiro) d) Ghost of a Chance – Wardell Gray (Bing Crosby,
Nat Washington, Victor Young) e) Love Walked In – Arnold Ross
(George & Ira Gershwin) f) Sophisticated Lady – John Simmons
(Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Mitchell Parish) g) Nancy – Buddy De
Franco (Phil Silvers, Jimmy Van Heusen) h) I Hadn’t Anyone –
Benny Carter (Ray Noble)
Harry Edison (tp) Buddy De Franco (cl) Benny Carter, Willie Smith (as)
Stan Getz, Wardell Gray (ts) Freddie Greene (git) Count Basie (p:1)
Arnold Ross (p:2) John Simmons (b) Buddy Rich (dr) Rec. on August 3, 1953
Total Time 70’38