His parents were Ukrainian Jews who immigrated from Kyiv city, Ukraine in 1903. The family later moved to New York City for better jobs. Stan worked hard in school receiving straight "A's" on average and finished 6th grade close to the top of his class. Stan's major interest was in musical instruments, and he felt a need to play every instrument in his sight. He played a number of instruments before his father bought him his first saxophone at the age of 13. Even though his father also got him a clarinet, Stan instantly fell in love with the saxophone and began practicing 8 hours a day. In 1941, he was accepted into the All City High School Orchestra of New York City. This gave Stan a chance to receive a private, free tutor from the New York Philharmonic, Simon Kovar - a bassoon player. He also began to spend more time 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.
In 1943, 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. After playing for Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman, Getz was a soloist with Woody Herman from 1947 to 1949 in 'The Second Herd' and he first gained wide attention as one of the band's saxophonists, who were known collectively as 'The Four Brothers', the others being Serge Chaloff, Zoot Sims and Herbie Steward. With Herman, he had a hit with "Early Autumn" and after Getz left 'The Second Herd' he was able to launch his solo career. He would be the leader on almost all of his recording sessions after 1950.
During the early '50s, Getz broke away from the Lester Young style to form his own musical identity and he was soon among the most popular of all jazzmen. He discovered Horace Silver in 1950 and used him in his quartet for several months. After touring Sweden in 1951, he formed an exciting quintet that co-featured guitarist Jimmy Raney; their interplay on up-tempo tunes and tonal blend on ballads was quite memorable. Getz's playing helped Johnny Smith have a hit in "Moonlight in Vermont," during 1953-1954 Bob Brookmeyer made his group a quintet and, despite some drug problems during the decade, Getz was a constant poll winner. After spending 1958-1960 in Europe, the tenorman returned to the U.S. and recorded his personal favorite album, Focus, with arranger Eddie Sauter's Orchestra.
Getz became a central figure in introducing bossa nova music to the U.S. 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 became a hit. The title track was an adaptation of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "One Note Samba". Getz won the Grammy for Best Jazz Performance of 1963 for "Desafinado". As a follow-up, Getz recorded Jazz Samba Encore! with one of the originators of bossa nova, Brazilian guitarist Luiz Bonfa.
He then recorded the album Getz/Gilberto with Tom Jobim, João Gilberto and his wife, Astrud Gilberto. Their "The Girl from Ipanema" won a Grammy Award. The piece became one of the most well-known latin jazz cuts of all time. Getz/Gilberto won two Grammys (Best Album and Best Single), besting The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night, a victory for Bossa Nova and Brazilian jazz. A live album, Getz/Gilberto Vol. 2, followed, as did Getz Au Go Go, a recording made live at the Cafe Au Go Go. Unfortunately, Getz' 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. Even while still working with the Gilbertos, he recorded Nobody Else But Me an album of straightforward jazz 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 eventually came out 30 years later, after Getz had died.
In 1972, Getz recorded in the fusion idiom with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. This group, without Getz, went on to become the famous Return to Forever, and many of the pieces including "La Fiesta" remained in their repertoire. In this period Getz experimented with an Echoplex on his saxophone, for which critics vilified him. He eventually discarded fusion and "electric jazz", returning to acoustic jazz, while at the same time gradually de-emphasizing the Bossa Nova, opting for more esoteric and less-mainstream jazz. He had a cameo in the movie The Exterminator (1980).
Towards the end of his life the now drug-free Getz had another creative peak with a group including the pianist Kenny Barron, whom Getz described as "my musical other half".
In 1986, he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
Getz married Beverly Byrne, a vocalist with the Gene Krupa band, on 7 November 1946; they had three children together: Steven, David, and Beverly (who married Michael McGovern).
Getz became involved with drugs and alcohol while a teenager. In 1954, he was arrested for attempting to rob a pharmacy to get a morphine fix. 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.
Getz tried to escape his narcotics addiction by moving to Copenhagen. He married Swedish aristocrat Monica Silfverskiöld on 3 November 1956 and had two children with her: Pamela and Nicolas. In 1957 Swedish girlfriend Inga Torgnér gave birth to a son Peter. Stan divorced Monica in 1987.
Zoot Sims, who had known Getz since their time with Herman, once described him as 'a nice bunch of guys', as a consequence of the wide behavioural range of which Getz was capable. In the final stages of his life Getz was able to end his addictions.
Getz died of liver cancer in 1991. His body was cremated and the ashes scattered at sea, off the coast of Malibu, California.
In 1998 the 'Stan Getz Media Center and Library' at the Berklee College of Music was dedicated through a donation from the Herb Alpert Foundation.
Easy Living
Stan Getz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's easy to live when you're in love
And I'm so in love
There is nothing in life but you
I never regret the years that I'm giving
They're easy to give when you're in love
I'm happy to do whatever I do for you
For you maybe I'm a fool
But it's fun
People say you rule me with one wave of your hand
Darling, it's grand
They just don't understand
Living for you is easy living
It's easy to live when you're in love
And I'm so in love
There's nothing in life but you
The song "Easy Living" by Stan Getz expresses the joy and simplicity of life that comes with being in love. The singer talks about how living for the person they love is effortless and fulfilling. The lyrics suggest that love makes everything in life easier, as if difficulties melt away when someone is in love. The line "I never regret the years that I'm giving" shows that the person is willing to give everything to their love and that the sacrifice is not a burden but actually easy to do.
The lyrics also acknowledge that others may see the person as foolish for being so deeply in love, but the singer is undeterred by this perception. The verse "People say you rule me with one wave of your hand, Darling it's grand, they just don't understand" suggests that the singer is content to be ruled by their love and that the people who criticize them simply don't understand the depth of their feelings.
Overall, the song celebrates the beauty of love and how it can make life easy and fulfilling. The lyrics are simple yet powerful, and the melody adds to the feeling of warmth and contentment.
Line by Line Meaning
Living for you is easy living
It is effortless to live life when you have someone to love.
It's easy to live when you're in love
Being in love makes life enjoyable and simple.
And I'm so in love
I am deeply and completely in love with you.
There is nothing in life but you
You are everything in my life, and nothing else matters.
I never regret the years that I'm giving
Giving you my time and love is always worth it, and I do not regret it.
They're easy to give when you're in love
It is not difficult to offer my time and give love when I am in love with you.
I'm happy to do whatever I do for you
I am incredibly content to perform any action or task for you because I love you.
For you maybe I'm a fool
To others, my actions for you may seem foolish, but I do not care.
But it's fun
Being in love and doing things for you is enjoyable and exciting.
People say you rule me with one wave of your hand
Others believe that you have complete control over me with only a gesture from you.
Darling, it's grand
My love for you is magnificent and impressive, and I do not mind what people say.
They just don't understand
People who are not in love cannot comprehend the magnitude of my emotions for you.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LEO ROBIN, RALPH RAINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
denisethepainter
Living for you
Is easy living
It's easy to live
When you're in love
And I'm so in love
There's nothing in life
But you...
I never regret
These years I'm giving
They're easy to give
When you're in love
And I'm so in love
There's nothing in life but you
For you
Maybe I'm a fool
But I'm fine
People say you rule me
With one--wave of your hand
Darling it's Grand
They just don't understand
Cuz--living for you.....
fred c dobbs
Probably the best tenor player ever. The great tone was maintained throughout his entire range
John Lindstrom
I love the way Getz goes from the lowest BLEAT to the highest CRY in a mere moment.
peter smith
These guys, Getz, Desmond are born with a gift. Practice alone did not get them to their level of expertise. It was already there. All they had to do was unleash it.
Arno Marsh
My Favorite tenor player. Very melodic and great sound.
iwivera
Thanks for putting this up. Am practising like hell to get this song sound at least o.k. on my sax. This gives me inspiration.
Brunella Recchia
Versione meravigliosa e Stan Getz .... magia pura .... ❤️Peccato manchi il finale, un vero peccato 😞
denisethepainter
Living for you
Is easy living
It's easy to live
When you're in love
And I'm so in love
There's nothing in life
But you...
I never regret
These years I'm giving
They're easy to give
When you're in love
And I'm so in love
There's nothing in life but you
For you
Maybe I'm a fool
But I'm fine
People say you rule me
With one--wave of your hand
Darling it's Grand
They just don't understand
Cuz--living for you.....
mapp47
what a sweet tone this man had,i love tenor players.anyone know what lp this came from? thanks alot!
Dexter Gordon
superb , on of the best recording of one of my favorites , agree with buckle bear that it ended too soon , just when we would have the solo of the superb pianoplayer wonder who he is ♥
HISTÓRIAS DA HISTÓRIA Luiz Octavio de Lima
Stan Getz - tenor saxophone
Jim McNeely - piano
Marc Johnson - bass
Billy Hart - drums