Few musicians had longer professional careers, or were more prolific than Stan Getz. Beginning his professional career at 15 in 1943 with Jack Teagarden, he helped usher in the California cool sound in the '50s, and in the early '60s, along with Charlie Byrd, introduced Brazilian Bossa Nova to U.S. audiences. He continued to play and record until shortly before his death in 1991. Known for his emotional, beautiful sound, Getz recorded some of his most compelling music in the last few years of his life.
Largely because of problems with the IRS, Getz was among the many American jazz musicians who relocated to Europe in the 1950s. Denmark was the locale he chose, and he was a regular at Copenhagen's Cafe' Montmartre until his return to the states in the early sixties. Getz, along with a quartet consisting of Rufs Reid (b), Victor Lewis (d), and Kenny Barron (p), returned to Copenhagen and a relocated Cafe' Montmartre in 1987. This one night stand was taped for broadcast on Danish radio, but when Getz heard the tapes some time later he was so impressed with both the playing and the recording quality that he arranged to have the performance released as two albums. The first, Anniversary, was released in 1989 and was nominated for a Grammy, and the second, Serenity, in March 1991. The authors of the Penguin Guide give each of these albums four stars and describe them as "Pristine examples of his art..." and credit Getz with creating a sound of "breathtaking beauty." Although I couldn't find any Youtube videos from these recordings, I am posting "On Green Dolphin Street" (Serenity) from a live performance by three of the quartet members recorded in 1989, and a live recording of Billy Strayhorn's haunting "Blood Count" (Anniversary) featuring Getz and Barron with a slightly larger combo from 1990.
Getz and Barron would return as a duo to Copenhagen for a four-night engagement in March, 1991. By this time Getz was in the final stages of the cancer that would take his life three months later. Each night's performance was recorded and a 2-CD album, People Time, was released in 1992. Kenny Barron wrote the liner notes to People Time and he asserted that Getz "played exceptionally well, giving each solo his all," but he also observed that the horn player was out of breath after his solos. The authors of Penguin Guide commented that "Some of the butter has run out of his tone..." but they still rated the album ***(*) out of five and lauded Barron for some of the best improvising of his career. Perhaps as much for the poignancy of the occasion as for the music, the album has become something of a classic. The original 2-CD album is available, and Sunny Side has recently released a 7-CD box set, People Time: The Complete Recordings. In 2002 Universal released Cafe' Montmartre, a single CD containing selections from all three of the albums recorded at that venue. Even if Getz had lost a step or two by the time the People Time recordings were made, the Getz-Barron duo still produced some very beautiful music. Featured below are the title tune and Charlie Haden's "First Song (For Ruth)."
No comments:
Post a Comment