Stan Getz / Eddie Sauter - Focus (1962)

One more Stan Getz post, in a sublime orchestrated album of pieces by composer/arranger Eddie Sauter.  On the surface, this might seem like a Miles Davis/Gil Evans-style collaboration, but the circumstances and sound are quite different.  Focus was a more straightfoward commission from Getz, whereby Sauter wrote the music and scored it without a lead melody line, into which space Getz would improvise.  His sax is overdubbed on some tracks, played live against the orchestra on others - the session details are unclear on which was which.

Sauter decided to write largely without a rhythm section, so the opening Alice In Wonderland evocation I'm Late, I'm Late is the only piece with a substantive drum track, provided by Roy Haynes.  After this uptempo start, much of the music is lush and languid, like the gorgeous Her and I Remember When; only Pan and Night Rider quicken the pace again, using the strings to provide the rhythmic pulse.  Getz's playing is at its absolute best throughout, flitting over the orchestra like a butterfly, all the way to the beautiful midtempo closer A Summer Afternoon.

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pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:

Conception

Getz/Gilberto

Sweet Rain

Stan Getz - Sweet Rain (1967)

Second Ron Carter post in a row, and another Stan Getz one following the recent Getz-Gilberto (link below).  The lineup on this breezy, nimble session from March 1967 is completed by Chick Corea on piano, whose compositions also bookend the album, and Grady Tate on drums.  

 

Right from the lengthy Litha, it's gorgeous late-summer bliss that shows Getz not so much in thrall to bossanova any more as having fully internalised Latin rhythms and influences.  A lovely mid-tempo take on O Grande Amor by Jobim/de Moraes does keep the Brazilian flame alive, and the album's first side closes out on the melancholy title track by Mike Gibbs.  Two lengthy explorations in Latin-inflected rhythms complete the album, lifted throughout by Corea's lightness of touch and the distinctive warmth of Getz's tone.

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pw: sgtg

Stan Getz at SGTG:

Conception

Getz/Gilberto

Stan Getz-João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto (1964)

Something definitely authentically Latin today (Stan Getz gets a free pass at inclusion here given his role in popularising Brazilian music in jazz).  For this classic album, perhaps the definitive start of the bossanova craze in the US (following earlier introductions by Getz and Charlie Byrd), Getz collaborated with João Gilberto on guitar & vocals.  The rest of the lineup was none other than Antônio Carlos Jobim on piano, plus Sebastião Neto on bass and Milton Banana on percussion.

Getz/Gilberto also introduced another up and coming Brazilian star on vocals for two tracks, thanks to Getz's coaxing - Astrud Gilberto (João's then-wife, shortly to begin an affair with Getz) sings the English lyrics of the evergreen Girl From Ipanema and Corcovado/Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars.  João Gilberto's guitar accompaniment is perfectly languid throughout, and Getz's cool, accesible tones and the gorgeous tunes all contributed to the breakthrough popularity and lasting brilliance of this great record.

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pw: sgtg

Lee Konitz, Miles Davis et al - Conception (1956 compilation, rec. 1949-51)

R.I.P. Lee Konitz, 13 October 1927 - 15 April 2020

The legendary saxophonist Lee Konitz has died at the age of 92, from Covid-related pneumonia.  He was the last surviving member of Miles Davis' Birth Of The Cool band, and had a storied career in his own right as a distinctive, melodic player and improviser.

This great collection was issued by Prestige in 1956 to bring together some 78rpm sides and material from 10" LPs.  The first six tracks in fact are the entirety of "The New Sounds" by "Lee Konitz featuring Miles Davis", a 10" released in 1951.  All of it essential early cool jazz and bop.

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