Stan Getz - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

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Stan Getz
Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991)
Stan Getz
was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor
saxophone, Getz was known as "e Sound" because of his warm,
lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of
his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with
Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Sco Yanow
as "one of the all-time great tenor saxophonists".[1] Getz performed
in bebop and cool jazz groups. Influenced by João Gilberto and
Antônio Carlos Jobim, he popularized bossa nova in America with
the hit single "e Girl from Ipanema" (1964).

Contents
Early life
Career
Personal life
Discography Stan Getz in 1983
Awards
Background information
Bibliography
Birth name Stanley
References
Gayetski
External links
Born February 2,
1927
Philadelphia,
Early life Pennsylvania,
Getz was born Stanley Gayetski on February 2, 1927, at St. Vincent's U.S.
Hospital in Philadelphia. His grandparents Harris and Beckie Died June 6, 1991
Gayetski were from the Kiev area of Russian Empire but migrated to (aged 64)
Whitechapel, in the East End of London and owned the Harris Tailor Malibu,
Shop at 52 Oxford Street for more than 13 years. In 1913, Harris and California
Beckie emigrated to the United States with their three sons Al, Phil, Genres Cool jazz ·
and Ben aer their son Louis Gayetski in 1912 (Getz's father Al was bossa nova ·
born in Mile End, London, England in 1904 and his mother Goldie bebop
Yampolsky in Philadelphia in 1907).
Instruments Tenor
e Getz family first seled in Philadelphia, but during the saxophone ·
Depression the family moved to New York City, seeking beer baritone
employment opportunities. Getz worked hard in school, receiving saxophone

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straight As, and finished sixth grade close to the top of his class. Years active 1943–91
Getz's major interest was in musical instruments and he played a
Labels Verve · Prestige
number of them before his father bought him his first saxophone at
the age of 13. Even though his father also got him a clarinet, Getz instantly fell in love with the saxophone and
began practicing eight hours a day.

He aended James Monroe High School in the Bronx. In 1941, he was accepted into the All City High School
Orchestra of New York City. is gave him a chance to receive private, free tutoring from the New York
Philharmonic's Simon Kovar, a bassoon player. He also continued playing the saxophone. He eventually dropped
out of school in order to pursue his musical career, but was later sent back to the classroom by the school system's
truancy officers.[1]

In 1943 at the age of 16,[2] he was accepted into Jack Teagarden's band, and because of his youth he became
Teagarden's ward. Getz also played along with Nat King Cole and Lionel Hampton. Aer playing for Stan Kenton,
Jimmy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman, Getz was a soloist with Woody Herman from 1947 to 1949 in "e Second
Herd", and he first gained wide aention as one of the band's saxophonists, who were known collectively as "e
Four Brothers", the others being Serge Chaloff, Zoot Sims and Herbie Steward.[2] With Herman, he had a hit with
"Early Autumn" and aer Getz le "e Second Herd" he was able to launch his solo career. He was the leader on
almost all of his recording sessions aer 1950.

Career
Getz's reputation was greatly enhanced by his featured performance on Johnny Smith's 1952 album Moonlight in
Vermont, that year's top jazz album. e single of the title tune became a hit that stayed on the charts for
months.[3]

In the mid to late 1950s working from Scandinavia, Getz became popular playing cool jazz with Horace Silver,
Johnny Smith, Oscar Peterson, and many others. His first two quintets were notable for their personnel, including
Charlie Parker's rhythm section of drummer Roy Haynes, pianist Al Haig and bassist Tommy Poer. A 1953 line-up
of the Dizzy Gillespie/Stan Getz Sextet featured Gillespie, Getz, Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Max Roach.[1]

Returning to the U.S. from Europe in 1961, Getz became a central figure in introducing bossa nova music to the
American audience. Teaming with guitarist Charlie Byrd, who had just returned from a U.S. State Department tour
of Brazil, Getz recorded Jazz Samba in 1962 and it quickly became a hit. Getz won the Grammy for Best Jazz
Performance of 1963 for "Desafinado", from the same album. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc.[4] His second bossa nova album, also recorded in 1962, was Big Band Bossa Nova with composer and
arranger Gary McFarland. As a follow-up, Getz recorded the album, Jazz Samba Encore!, with one of the originators
of bossa nova, Brazilian guitarist Luiz Bonfá. It also sold more than a million copies by 1964, giving Getz his second
gold disc.[4]

He then recorded the album Getz/Gilberto, in 1963,[5] with Antônio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto and his wife,
Astrud Gilberto. eir "e Girl from Ipanema" won a Grammy Award. e piece became one of the most well-
known Latin jazz tracks. Getz/Gilberto won two Grammys (Best Album and Best Single). A live album, Getz/Gilberto
Vol. 2, followed, as did Getz Au Go Go (1964), a live recording at the Cafe au Go Go. Getz's love affair with Astrud
Gilberto brought an end to his musical partnership with her and her husband, and he began to move away from
bossa nova and back to cool jazz. While still working with the Gilbertos, he recorded the jazz album Nobody Else

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but Me (1964), with a new quartet including vibraphonist Gary Burton, but Verve Records, wishing to continue
building the Getz brand with bossa nova, refused to release it. It came out 30 years later, aer Getz had died.

In 1972, Getz recorded in the fusion idiom with Chick Corea, Tony Williams and Stanley Clarke, and in this period
experimented with an Echoplex on his saxophone. He had a cameo in the film e Exterminator (1980).

In the mid-1980s Getz worked regularly in the San Francisco Bay area and taught at Stanford University as an
artist-in-residence at the Stanford Jazz Workshop until 1988.[6] In 1986, he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz
Hall of Fame. During 1988, Getz worked with Huey Lewis and the News on their Small World album. He played the
extended solo on part 2 of the title track, which became a minor hit single.

His tenor saxophone of choice was the Selmer Mark VI.

Personal life
Getz married Beverly Byrne, a vocalist with the Gene Krupa band,
on November 7, 1946 in Los Angeles; they had three children
together, Steve, David and Beverly.

As a teenager, Getz had become involved with drugs and alcohol. In

1954, he was arrested for aempting to rob a pharmacy for
morphine. As he was being processed in the prison ward of Los
Angeles County-USC Medical Center, Beverly gave birth to their
third child one floor below. Immediately aer his divorce from
Byrne in Nevada on November 3, 1956, he married Monica
Silfverskiöld,[7] daughter of Swedish physician and former Olympic
medalist Nils Silfverskiöld. ey had two children, Pamela and
Nicolaus. e pair lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, partly to escape
Getz's legal problems.

Getz was abusive towards his children and occasionally towards

Monica.[8] He filed for divorce in 1981[8] but the petition was not With his granddaughter Katie in
granted until 1987.[9] In 1990 Monica Getz petitioned the United 1987 at the Lincoln Center
States Supreme Court to have their divorce verdict overturned. New
York State law required that selement agreements be heard in trial
court instead of family court. Monica claimed that the law discriminated against women who, like her, could be
bankrupted by paying trial lawyers.[8] e Supreme Court declined to hear the case.[9] Zoot Sims, who had known
Getz since their time with Herman, once described him as "a nice bunch of guys", alluding to the wide range of his
personality.

Getz died of liver cancer on June 6, 1991. His ashes were poured from his saxophone case six miles off the coast of
Marina del Rey, California, by his grandson, Chris.

In 1998, the Stan Getz Media Center and Library at Berklee College of Music was dedicated through a donation
from the Herb Alpert Foundation.

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Discography

Awards
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance, Soloist or Small Group (Instrumental)
"Desafinado", 1962[10]
Grammy Award for Record of the Year, "The Girl from Ipanema", 1964 [11]
Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Getz/Gilberto, Stan Getz and João Gilberto (Verve)
1964[12]
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Small Group or Soloist With Small
Group, Getz/Gilberto, Stan Getz 1964[10]
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Solo Performance, "I Remember You", 1991 [13]

Bibliography
Astrup, Arne. The Stan Getz Discography, 1978.
Churchill, Nicholas. Stan Getz: An Annotated Bibliography and Filmography, 2005.
Gelly, Dave. Stan Getz: Nobody Else But Me, 2002.
Kirkpatrick, Ron. Stan Getz: An Appreciation of His Recorded Work, 1992.
Maggin, Donald L. (1996). Stan Getz. A Life in Jazz. New York: William Morrow.
ISBN 0-688-15555-3.
Palmer, Richard. Stan Getz, 1988.
Taylor, Dennis. Jazz Saxophone: An In-depth Look at the Styles of the Tenor Masters,
2004.

References
1. Yanow, Scott. "Stan Getz" (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/stan-getz-mn0000742899
/biography). AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
2. Pbs.org (https://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_getz_stan.htm) "Oxford University
Press" PBS – Jazz – A film By Ken Burns
3. Eric Schneider (1952-03-11). "Moonlight in Vermont - Johnny Smith, Johnny Smith Quintet
| Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards" (http://www.allmusic.com/album/moonlight-in-
vermont-mw0000430436). AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
4. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins
Ltd. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
5. page 208 of "italic" The Latin Beat "italic" by Ed Morales
6. "Stan Getz" (http://www.nndb.com/people/814/000085559/). NNDb.com. Retrieved
2015-08-18.
7. "Monica Getz" (http://lunduniversityfoundation.org/about/monica-getz). Lund University
Foundation. Lund University Foundation. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
8. Margolick, David (26 November 1990). "Ex-Wife of Stan Getz Testing a Divorce Law"
(https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/26/nyregion/ex-wife-of-stan-getz-testing-a-divorce-
law.html?pagewanted=1). New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2015.

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9. Watrous, Peter (7 June 1991). "Stan Getz, 64, Saxophonist, Dies; A Melodist With His Own
Sound" (https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/07/obituaries/stan-getz-64-saxophonist-dies-
a-melodist-with-his-own-sound.html). New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
10. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (2000-02-05). Billboard (https://books.google.com
/books?id=1A0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79&
dq=stan+getz+Grammy+Award+for+Best+Jazz+Performance,+Soloist+or+Small+Grou
p+(Instrumental)+%22Desafinado,%22+Stan+Getz.+1962&source=bl&
ots=8w3xxk7Dpz&sig=5VPhIXsrPvpJIWvflgkHut3lXxM&hl=en&sa=X&
ved=0ahUKEwiZvb3rs8jTAhVRfiYKHbMTBiwQ6AEIOjAD#v=onepage&
q=stan%20getz%20Grammy%20Award%20for%20Best%20Jazz%20Performance,%20Sol
oist%20or%20Small%20Group%20(Instrumental)%20%22Desafinado,
%22%20Stan%20Getz.%201962&f=false). Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
11. "7th Annual GRAMMY Awards" (https://www.grammy.com/awards/7th-annual-grammy-
awards). GRAMMY.com. 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
12. Jazz, All About. "Stan Getz: Spring 1976" (https://www.allaboutjazz.com/stan-getz-spring-
1976-stan-getz-by-c-michael-bailey.php). All About Jazz. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
13. "Stan Getz | Awards" (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/stan-getz-mn0000742899/awards).
AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-04-29.

External links
Official Stan Getz homepage (http://www.stangetz.net/)
1986 Interview (http://www.melmartin.com/html_pages/getz.html)
Getz discography (http://www.jazzdisco.org/getz/)

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