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.
I Hadn
Stan Getz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was a lonely one 'til you,
I used to lie awake and wonder if there could be
A someone in the wide world just made for me,
Now I see
I had to save my love for you, (I saved my love for you)
I never gave my love 'til you, (I saved it all for you)
Cupid took a hand in it,
I hadn't anyone till you.
I kept my love in secrecy,
I put it under lock and key,
I had to save my love for you!
I never gave my love away,
I waited for that lucky day
When I could give it to you
And through my lonely heart demanding it,
Cupid took a hand in it,
I hadn't anyone till you.
The song "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" by Stan Getz is a classic love song about finding one's soulmate. The lyrics describe the singer's loneliness before they found their current partner. The first verse describes the singer's sleepless nights, wondering if they would ever find someone who was "made for me." However, after finding their partner, the singer saves all their love for them.
In the second verse, the singer reveals that they kept their love in secrecy and under lock and key, waiting for the right person to come along. When cupid finally intervened, the singer knew that they hadn't had anyone until they found their current love. The lyrics are a testament to the power of love, and how it can change one's life completely.
Overall, the song is a nostalgic tribute to the love that the singer has found, and how it has transformed their existence. The song is a reminder that love can come at any time, and can happen to anyone.
Line by Line Meaning
I hadn't anyone till you,
I didn't have anyone special in my life until I found you.
I was a lonely one 'til you,
I felt lonely until you came along and filled that void in my life.
I used to lie awake and wonder if there could be A someone in the wide world just made for me,
Before I met you, I would often stay awake at night wondering if there was someone out there who was perfect for me.
Now I see
But now that I have found you, I can see that you were the one meant for me all along.
I had to save my love for you, (I saved my love for you)
I kept my love and affection exclusively for you and didn't give it away to anyone else.
I never gave my love 'til you, (I saved it all for you)
I had never loved anyone else before I met you. All my love was for you and you alone.
And through my lonely heart demanding it, Cupid took a hand in it,
Even though I felt alone, my heart eventually led me to you and Cupid played a role in bringing us together.
I kept my love in secrecy,
I didn't reveal my feelings to anyone else and kept them hidden within me.
I put it under lock and key,
I protected my love and kept it safe, waiting for the right person to give it to.
I never gave my love away,
I didn't give my love to anyone else except for you.
I waited for that lucky day When I could give it to you
I patiently waited for the perfect moment when I could give you all my love and share my life with you.
I hadn't anyone till you.
I was all alone in this world until I met you and fell in love with you.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: NOBLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind