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.
Falling In Love
Stan Getz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love walked right in and brought my sunniest day
One magic moment and my heart seemed to know that love said hello
Though not a word was spoken
One look, and I forgot the gloom of the past
One look and I had found my future at last
One look and I had found a world completely new
One magic moment and my heart seemed to know that love said hello
Though not a word was spoken
One look and I had found a world completely new
When love walked in with you
The lyrics of "I'm In Love" by Stan Getz capture the transformative power of love when it enters one's life. The song begins by expressing how love can instantly dispel darkness and bring about a sense of joy and optimism. It suggests that the mere presence of love can create a magical moment that touches the heart, even without the need for words.
The lyrics go on to emphasize the profound impact that love has on the singer's life. With just one look from their loved one, all the sadness and negativity of the past fades away. The singer feels as though they have finally found their true path and a world filled with new possibilities. It implies that love has the ability to completely change one's perspective on life, offering a fresh start and a sense of fulfillment.
Overall, the lyrics of "I'm In Love" convey the idea that love has the power to bring light into darkness, to rejuvenate and inspire, and to transform one's outlook on life. It highlights the significance of love in bringing about a profound and positive change in one's existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Love walked right in and drove the shadows away
Love entered effortlessly and dispelled all the darkness and negativity.
Love walked right in and brought my sunniest day
Love arrived and brought immense happiness and brightness into my life.
One magic moment and my heart seemed to know that love said hello
In an instance of pure enchantment, my heart recognized the presence of love without a single word being uttered.
Though not a word was spoken
Despite the absence of verbal communication.
One look, and I forgot the gloom of the past
With just a single glance, all the sadness and sorrow from the past vanished from my memory.
One look and I had found my future at last
In that same glance, I finally discovered the path to my future.
One look and I had found a world completely new
With that one look, my entire perspective transformed into an entirely fresh and unfamiliar world.
When love walked in with you
The moment love entered my life through you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@malko42
I was left breathless the first time i heard this, back when it was released.
@rodneybland3616
In my opinion, Getz' best ballad. Not due to any technical play but due to his heart!
@salvatorerasa3551
The sound of a great musician who finally found some peace and serenity.
@briannovak-mcsweeney9109
The Definition Of Tenderness...once heard,never forgotten.A classic performance from "The Sound".
@JazzMaestra
Stan Getz's humid and soft sound will never be duplicated.
@BuckshotLaFunke1
No, indeed. Coltrane once said: 'Of course, we would all play like Stan if we could.'
@JazzMaestra
BuckshotLaFunke1 Amen!! There is little wonder why they called Stan Getz "The Sound."
@BuckshotLaFunke1
What intrigues me is your description of Stan's sound as 'humid'. I had never thought of that, but it seems apt enough.
@JazzMaestra
Trust I had to hunt for the exact terminology to describe his sound. The one thing I noticed was this kind of breathy moist sound that no other saxophonist has yet to duplicate!
@jamleonid
It's an absolute miracle! This album, "Serenity" is made from the same concert, as album "Anniversary"! The concert apeared in 1987 in Copenhagen Jazzhus (Cafe Montmartre). The album "Anniversary" was realised in 1989, "Serenity - in 1991 by EmArcy records. I strongly recommend to listen to these both albums - full performance of Getz, Barron, Reid and Lewis! It' really a miracle!