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.
If Ever I Would Leave You
Stan Getz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seeing you in summer I never would go.
Your hair streaked with sun-light, your lips red as flame, your face with a luster.
That puts gold to shame.
But if I'd ever leave you, it couldn't be in autumn.
How I'd leave in autumn I never will know.
I've seen how you sparkle, when fall nips the air.
And could I leave you running merrily through the snow
Or on a wintry evening when you catch the fire's glow
If ever I would leave you, how could it be in spring-time
Knowing how in spring I'm bewitched by you so
Oh, no! not in spring-time.
Summer, winter or fall.
No, never could I leave you at all.
No, never could I leave you at all.
The song "If Ever I Would Leave You" by Stan Getz talks about the unbreakable bond between two people. The lyrics suggest that leaving the person the singer loves is impossible, regardless of the season. The singer vividly describes the beauty of their partner in summer, with their hair lit by sunlight, lips fiery red, and their overall aura putting gold to shame. The singer admits that they could never leave their partner in autumn, when they sparkle with the onset of fall. Similarly, leaving their partner in the winter snow or by the fireplace could never be an option. Lastly, the singer proclaims that even in springtime when they are most susceptible to being enchanted by their beloved's beauty, they could never leave them.
The lyrics to the song suggest that despite the seasons' change, the singer's love for their partner remains constant. The song symbolizes a love that is unwavering, and the singer chooses to stay by their partner's side through every season and every situation.
Line by Line Meaning
If ever I would leave you, it wouldn't be in summer.
If I ever left you, it wouldn't be in the summer season.
Seeing you in summer I never would go.
I wouldn't leave you when I see you in the summertime.
Your hair streaked with sun-light, your lips red as flame, your face with a luster.
Your hair has the sun's reflection, while your lips are as red as fire, and your face is glowing with radiance.
That puts gold to shame.
Your beauty surpasses that of gold.
But if I'd ever leave you, it couldn't be in autumn.
I couldn't leave you in the fall season.
How I'd leave in autumn I never will know.
I don't know how I would ever leave in the autumn season.
I've seen how you sparkle, when fall nips the air.
I have witnessed how you shine when the autumn air is cold.
I know you in autumn, and I must be there.
I am familiar with your presence during the fall season and therefore must stay there with you.
And could I leave you running merrily through the snow
Could I really leave you while you play joyfully in the snow?
Or on a wintry evening when you catch the fire's glow
Or even on a cold winter night when you sit by the fire and its light shines on you?
If ever I would leave you, how could it be in spring-time
How could I ever leave you during the beautiful spring season?
Knowing how in spring I'm bewitched by you so
I am mesmerized by your beauty in spring, and that's why I cannot leave you then.
Oh, no! not in spring-time.
Definitely not in the spring season.
Summer, winter or fall.
I cannot leave you in summer, winter, or fall.
No, never could I leave you at all.
I could never leave you forever.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALAN JAY LERNER, FREDERICK LOEWE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind