Personnel:
Stan Getz (ts), Jan Johansson (p), Ray Brown (b), Ed Thigpen (d)
Reference: FSRCD 897
Bar code: 8427328608978
Stan Getz, one of the most gifted and influential of American jazzmen of his time and a consistent favorite of the U.S. public, was living since July 1958 in a small town outside Copenhagen, where he had started a new life. Like many American expatriate jazzmen, he found the relaxed European lifestyle more conducive to his creativity; there was more time to develop and try out new ideas. It was to prove an artistically flourishing and assertive time for him.
By the spring of 1960, he was ready to leave Copenhagen and start travelling the continent with Norman Granz’ Jazz at the Philharmonic troupe, where, in Swedish pianist Jan Johansson, Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums, he had an excellent rhythm section to support the more lyrical and forceful playing he achieved in Europe. “He doesn’t seem dry and intellectual as he used to,” said one Danish jazz critic. “He has soul in every note he plays. Getz demonstrates that the modern school isn’t as bloodless as people have been thinking. He builds up his themes with unerring logic, and it is almost incredible that he can give his tone so much richness and fullness without vibrato…” It was a golden time for Getz, and all these qualities are evident in these concert performances recorded in Amsterdam, Dusseldorf and Zurich.
"Yes, I know! Someone’s going to contact me and get on my case about John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins. Don’t even bring up anyone after those guys; just remember that during the time this recording was made, John Coltrane was quoted as saying “Everyone wants to sound like Stan Getz.” Yes, there is Hawkins, Young, Webster and others, but Getz is the guy you always want to listen to, no matter the mood.
And Getz was in a good mood on these concert recordings from Amsterdam, Dusseldorf and Zurich on a 1960 tour with Jan Johansson/p, Ray Brown/b and Ed Thigpen/dr. He cries like a baby with his gloriously desultory vibrato on “The Thrill Is Gone” and sways like linen drapes on “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most.” He’s also able to flex his muscles, but it never gets over indulgent. “Woody ‘n You” and “Cherokee” feel effortless as the heat builds up after each chorus, with the rhythm section humming like a V8 engine. Johanson touches the ivories like a young Kenny Barron as Getz plays with upper and lower registers on “Out of Nowhere” while Thigpen digs deep and digs in, finally coming up for air in a wrestling match with the tenorist on relentless “Lover, Come Back to Me.”
And, he didn’t do it much, but when he did play the blues as on “Land’s End” he sounds like Picasso’s blue period with rich shades, textures and pastels all through the melody and variations. The recording quality is wonderful, the liner notes are informative and the music itself is simply life affirming."
George W. Harris (July 18, 2016)
http://www.jazzweekly.com
