A Few Thoughts On Stan Getz

Stan Getz (1927 - 1991) was one of the great artists in the history of jazz. His brilliant technique, his drive for perfection and his superior musicianship were hallmarks of everything he did in music. Known as "The Sound" because of his tone on the sax, Getz became known for playing "Bossa Nova," a style of music from Brazil that required extremely intimate playing and a flexible sense of rhythm.

Born in Philadelphia to Russian emigres, Stan Getz major interest during a school life filled with being a straight "A" student was in exploring musical instruments. This was a very strong urge on his part as he quickly learned to play every musical instrument with confidence and assurance. At the age of 13, Stan began playing the saxophone while also taking on the clarinet, both instruments being bought by his father. But it was the saxophone that caught Stan's attention and he began taking jobs almost as soon as he had mastered the instrument, practicing 8 hours a day. By 1941, he was accepted into the All City High School of New York City which provided an opportunity to study with the bassoonist with the New York Philharmonic, Steven Kovar. Stan later dropped out of high school but was brought back by the truant officer!

By 1943, Getz was hired by Jack Teagarden who, because of Stan's youth, had to legally become his ward. Getz also played alongside Nat King Cole and Lionel Hampton before hitting the big time with Stan Kenton and his big band. This led to stints with Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey before he joined Woody Herman's Second Herd in 1947 - 1949. It is there that Getz started to shine as a promising jazz artist, taking part in the sax section known as "The Four Brothers." After his first recording session in 1950 as a solo artist, Stan Getz was the leader on every one of his recording sessions and personal appearances. His quintet at that time featured former Charlie Parker veterans such as drummer Roy Haines, pianist Al Haig and bassist Tommy Potter. A 1953 line-up with Dizzy Gillespie included Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Max Roach, solidifying Getz as an important exponent of "cool" jazz.

Getz was also an important pioneer, along with Bud Shank, in promoting the "Bossa Nova" movement in jazz, playing on the hit recording "Getz/Gilberto" with its timeless performance of "The Girl From Ipanema" featuring Astrud Gilberto which beat out The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" for two Grammies, Best Album and Best Song. Together, Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz began an affair that lasted until their careers started diverging along different lines with Getz coming back to "cool" jazz while Gilberto began in earnest her popular music adventures.

In 1972, Getz recorded a fusion jazz album with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. He also experimented with an electronic sax named the Echoplex which he quickly discarded when the critics roasted him over the coals for abandoning his artistry in favor of schlock. He eventually discarded all forms of fusion jazz and returned to what he did best and had the most sympathy for, acoustic jazz although he did one acting gig in 1980's film "The Exterminator."

Towards the end of his life, Getz was entirely drug-free, having had scrapes with robbing a pharmacy for drugs and kicking a heroin habit. Zoot Sims, a friend of Getz since their days with the Woody Herman band in the late 1940's, described Getz as "a nice bunch of guys," a reference no doubt to the many sided aspects of Stan's personality.

Right at the final stage of his life, Getz kicked drugs for good but never lived long enough to provide his admirers with more of his artistry for he died in 1991 of liver cancer, his ashes being scattered across the sea at Malibu, California.

A perfectionist, someone who drove others around him to come up to his impeccable high standards of performing: these are the aspects of his life that we will long remember Stan Getz. From his beginnings as a child to the mature adult with many painful stops along the way, Stan Getz was an incredible artist who captures the moods of jazz and brought forth a new vocabulary that was highly expressive of a wide range of emotions. In many ways, he was a revolutionary figure in the art form known as jazz. Yet there was a certain amount of control in his performances, as if everything had been perfected in rehearsals to the last degree so that his mind could be free when he played either in concert or for records. And this is where Stan Getz has achieved his immortality, for he was truly that one of a kind musician, one whose performances will continue to amaze and admire.