© -Steven
Cerra , copyright protected; all rights reserved.
“As for Getz's playing, his
style is instantly identifiable and internationally influential one for a
decade even though he's only 30—was once noted primarily for its soft, flowing
lyricism. in recent years, he has added increasing virility. And the singing
naturalness but individuality of line; the quick, certain ear for harmonic
patterns; and the supple time, remain. …
Stan is in the tradition of
the players. He has not contributed a body of music—either written or
unit-deep—as have John Lewis, on the one hand, and Gerry Mulligan, on the
other.
He has contributed a style
and can nearly always be depended on to stimulate a listener's imagination (…)
with a demonstration that the art of improvisation still flares and challenges
and excites.”
- Nat Hentoff, Jazz author and critic
Tenor saxophonist
Stan Getz had it all – a beautiful, immediately recognizable sound, ideas as an
improviser that flowed forth like water from a Bernini fountain and the seeming
ability to execute on the instrument, anything that came to his mind.
Stan Getz was a
blueprint for perfection.
So prolific are
his recordings that you could spend a lifetime listening to his music and not
absorb it all.
Getz seemed to
have a proclivity for finding hit songs whether it was Early Autumn in 1948 with Woody Herman’s Band, or Moonlight in Vermont with guitarist
Johnny Smith in 1952 and, of course, his 1962 recording of Jobim’s Desifinado and the related Jazz
Samba album.
I am particularly
fond of the many fine recordings he made for Verve in the 1950s with his own
groups, including his West Coast quintet featuring Bob Brookmeyer on valve
trombone and those featuring guitarist Jimmy Raney.
Also during this
decade, Getz made a series of excellent collaboration recordings with baritone
saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, trombonist J.J. Johnson and trumpeter Dizzy
Gillespie. The latter featured the usually “cool” Getz in some
take-no-prisoners exchanges with Sonny Stitt that found Stan holding his own in
a more assertive “East Coast” Jazz setting.
Ironically, at the
height of his powers as a player in the 1950’s, Getz left it all behind to take
up residence in Stockholm Copenhagen
“Despite the quality
and quantity of his 1950s work, Getz became an increasingly isolated figure on
the jazz scene as the decade progressed. There were many contributing factors
to his fall from grace: a much-publicized arrest for attempting a drugstore
robbery to support his substance-abuse habit; his decision to relocate
overseas; his often changeable personality—but, at bottom, it came mostly from
factors beyond Getz's control. Jazz tenor sax playing in these years was moving
farther and farther away from Getz's cool stylings. Harder edged players, such
as Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, were establishing a new model for how the
tenor should sound. Getz, who was always a reluctant modernist—his embrace of
bop mannerisms had never obscured the more traditional roots in his
playing—seemed in danger of sounding old fashioned before his thirty-fifth
birthday.
But in the early
1960s, Getz mounted a major comeback that encompassed both critical success
[i.e.: his 1961 Focus album which
featured Eddie Sauter’s string arrangements] and immense popular acclaim [his
bossa nova recordings of the music of Jobim and Gilberto].”
Stan became
financially comfortable thanks to the commercial success of the boys and girl from
Ipanema Beach in Rio De Janeiro such that, before his passing in 1991, he went on to
lead some superb Jazz quartets with pianists Kenny Barron, JoAnne Brackeen,
Chick Corea, Albert Dailey, Andy Laverne and Jim McNeely. For a time, he toured
with a quartet that included Gary Burton on vibes and Larry Bunker on drums and
late in his career, he did a number of guest recordings which included one with
pianist Bill Evans and one with the vocalist Diane Schuur.
Did I mention that
you could spend a lifetime just listening to recordings by Stan?
Of all the
recordings by Stan, to my ears, Stan Getz in Stockholm which he
recorded for Verve in 1955, remains my favorite.
Ironically, in
many ways, it is one of his most unassuming recorded efforts and one which is
often overlooked to the point of exclusion as it doesn’t garner a mention in
Richard Cook and Brian Morton’s The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 6th
Ed.
Consisting of 8
tracks each about 4 minutes in length, Stan’s playing throughout is an audio
example of what I previously termed – a blueprint for perfection.
A large part of
the artistic perfection of the music on this album is due to the work of an
all-Swedish rhythmic section made up of Bengt Hallberg on piano, Gunnar Johnson
on bass and Anders Burman on drums.
In a reserved and
understated manner, they just swing like mad, stay out of his way and propel
Stan forward thereby enabling him to engage in some of the most engaging solos
he ever recorded.
After listening to
how well bassist Johnson and drummer Burman lock-in behind Getz, it is
surprising to find that both are rarely heard on the considerable number of
modern Jazz recordings that were made in Sweden
At the time that Stan
Getz in Stockholm was recorded in December, 1955, Anders Burman was
known primarily as a Dixieland Jazz drummer. He made the date with only a hi-hat,
and snare drum – no ride cymbal, tom-toms or bass drum – and he only uses
sticks on one track.
To call pianist
Bengt Hallberg a reluctant modernist would be an understatement for as Getz
told Nat Hentoff, who wrote the liner notes to the recording:
"There are
times when I feel Bengt borders on genius. … He has ambivalent feelings about
jazz though. He doesn't like the uncertainty of it, and thinks it's a limited
form. The thing is he doesn't permit himself to get excited when he plays jazz.
He's afraid of letting himself go that much; he's afraid he'll get hurt. And
yet I know he could Bud-Powell it-up if he wanted to.” [Actually, I think that
Bengt’s playing on this recording sounds
like a combination of pianist Teddy Wilson and Bud Powell].
Perhaps, another
factor leading to the great restraint of the Swedish-born rhythm section on Stan
Getz in Stockholm is that they may have been in awe of Getz who had
received so much notoriety as an “American Jazz star” before he relocated to
Stockholm.
Whatever the
reasons, the moderation and self-discipline that Hallberg, Johnson and Burman
bring to their backing of Getz on this album sets him free to soar. They just
set up some incredible grooves and stay the heck out of Getz’s way.
The eight tracks
that make up the album are all standards: Indiana,
With A Song, I Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You, I Can’t Believe that
You’re in Love With Me, Everything Happens to Me, Over the Rainbow, Get Happy and Jeepers Creepers.
The format for
each track is pretty straight-forward with Getz stating the melody, improvising
for two or three choruses with Hallberg following and doing the same; Getz
comes back in for a closing chorus of improvisation before the group takes the
tune out.
Hallberg
accompanies Getz beautifully, Johnson lays down singing bass lines and Burman
hardly plays an accent while quietly swinging throughout; nothing flashy but all
of which are done in the service of some of the most beautifully tenor sax
playing ever created.
The music is so
clear, beautifully accomplished and swinging that I return to this recording
often and with a sense of anticipation because it epitomizes Jazz: the music
seems to come out of nowhere, stay a fleeting moment and then disappear leaving
a warm feeling in one’s heart and a little springiness in one’s step.
You can sample the
music from Stan Getz in Stockholm on the following video tribute to Stan
which features as its audio track Get
Happy. It’s the only one that Anders Burman uses sticks on and he does so
by playing them on the hi-hat in the manner of Papa Jo Jones and Dave y Tough. You can’t use sticks on a cymbal
any more quietly than this and yet the
tune swings like mad.
