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.
Sambalero
Stan Getz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Def Jam, yeah
Ruff Ryders, yeah
Def Jam, yeah
Ruff Ryders, yeah
Def Jam, yeah
Ruff Ryders
Bloodline, we 'bout to blow
Vacant Lot, we 'bout to blow
Man, bitch-ass niggaz just don't know
Bloodline, we 'bout to blow
Ruff Ryders, we 'bout to blow
Vacant Lot, we 'bout to blow
Man, bitch-ass niggaz just don't know
I'm just gonna stick to the script 'cuz you know how that shit go
Quick to the flip dog, kitten don't let go
Get that shit yo, wrong or right me
Dog for life and it's on tonight
Y'all niggaz make money, money, money
My niggaz take money, money, money
Bloodline, get down 'cuz I love mine
I can put my life on the line at least one time
Cats don't know nothing, but show frontin'
I'm a pump pump it up like Joe Budden
Dark Man, bang your head with the walk man
Tryna holla at shorty, you still tryna talk man
Sometimes niggaz is worse than the bitches
So I'm a holla at you, but first with the stitches
Cats don't know who you fucking with
'Til you fucking with X and you stuck in shit
Bloodline, we 'bout to blow
Ruff Ryders, we 'bout to blow
Vacant Lot, we 'bout to blow
Man, bitch-ass niggaz just don't know
Bloodline, we 'bout to blow
Ruff Ryders, we 'bout to blow
Vacant Lot, we 'bout to blow
Man, bitch-ass niggaz just don't know
Yo Grease, I need this beat, no disrespect
I just got some shit I need to get off my chest
Look around and I see the rap game is a mess
So many chromes, now they getting me vexed
Upset and insane in how the game gonna change shit
Sounding the same, and it's a ma' fucking shame
While lames think they flow so sick, getting excited
Yeah, they got a sick flow, it's called the 'Young hoe virus'
But, let me fall back into character
B got so hot, never been an amateur
Ask the locals, boy it's lo-co
Never stop my flow, wanna go pro, you know
Check the history, started with the R's
Now I'm running with the line, four time, no mystery
Dog, tryna position me to get in the door
But since the door don't open wide enough, we rippin' it off
Bloodline, we 'bout to blow
Ruff Ryders, we 'bout to blow
Vacant Lot, we 'bout to blow
Man, bitch-ass niggaz just don't know
Bloodline, we 'bout to blow
Ruff Ryders, we 'bout to blow
Vacant Lot, we 'bout to blow
Man, bitch-ass niggaz just don't know
Dog, gonna be Dog, that's how I get down
Step up, nigga, sit down, put your shit down
(Aight)
Clowns ain't even built for the circus, I'm about to pop this nigga
(Dog, it ain't worth it)
Tah, yeah you right, soon as your man make it dead at night
I'll be there, aight
(Then what)
Everything stops, money turns on the light
And pa pop pop pop
None stop shots ringing out, cowards hit the ground
I came to get down if you came to get down
Blow the pound up, niggaz wanna what with us
Bloodline and the dog I trust, so for the dog I bust
That thang, catch me while
I'm up in the truck with that thang
Dog get the word, it's a must that I bang
And trust me, I'm gonna do my motherfuckin' thang
Bloodline, we 'bout to blow
Ruff Ryders, we 'bout to blow
Vacant Lot, we 'bout to blow
Man, bitch-ass niggaz just don't know
Bloodline, we 'bout to blow
Ruff Ryders, we 'bout to blow
Vacant Lot, we 'bout to blow
Man, bitch-ass niggaz just don't know
Yeah
Come on man
Ya niggaz don't know
What the fuck this shit is
Gutter
Gutter
Gutter
Gutter
It is highly likely that the lyrics provided above are not the correct ones for Stan Getz’s song Sambalero. The lyrics that are provided seem to belong to a rap song, and Sambalero is a jazz and bossa nova tune that is mainly instrumental. Therefore, it is impossible to provide an interpretation of the lyrics as they are not related to the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah
Expressing affirmation or agreement
Def Jam, yeah
Acknowledging the record label Def Jam
Ruff Ryders, yeah
Acknowledging the record label Ruff Ryders
Bloodline, we 'bout to blow
Promoting the success of the record label Bloodline
Ruff Ryders, we 'bout to blow
Promoting the success of the record label Ruff Ryders
Vacant Lot, we 'bout to blow
Promoting the success of the record label Vacant Lot
Man, bitch-ass niggaz just don't know
Referring to people who don't understand or acknowledge the success of the record labels and the artist
I'm just gonna stick to the script 'cuz you know how that shit go
Staying true to the original plan or idea
Quick to the flip dog, kitten don't let go
Acting quickly and decisively without hesitation
Get that shit yo, wrong or right me
Being determined to succeed, no matter the consequences or methods used
Dog for life and it's on tonight
Being committed to the record label Ruff Ryders and ready to succeed at that moment
Y'all niggaz make money, money, money
Observing that some people are only focused on making money
My niggaz take money, money, money
Asserting the hard work and dedication of the artist and record labels
Bloodline, get down 'cuz I love mine
Expressing love for the record label Bloodline
I can put my life on the line at least one time
Being willing to take on risks or challenges for the record label and the artist's success
Cats don't know nothing, but show frontin'
Observing that some people pretend to be knowledgeable or successful, but don't actually know much
I'm a pump pump it up like Joe Budden
Pumping up or energizing the music and success like rapper Joe Budden
Dark Man, bang your head with the walk man
Encouraging people to enjoy the music and rhythm by dancing
Tryna holla at shorty, you still tryna talk man
Insinuating that someone is not taking action on pursuing a romantic interest
Sometimes niggaz is worse than the bitches
Observing that some men exhibit negative traits more often attributed to women
So I'm a holla at you, but first with the stitches
Warning that actions may lead to violence and injury
Cats don't know who you fucking with
Observing that people underestimate the artist and record labels they are dealing with
'Til you fucking with X and you stuck in shit
Implying that people will regret and be trapped in a bad situation once dealing with the record label Ruff Ryders and the artist X
Yo Grease, I need this beat, no disrespect
Asking for permission to use another artist's beat without intending to cause offense
I just got some shit I need to get off my chest
Explaining the need to express oneself through music
Look around and I see the rap game is a mess
Observing the chaos and difficulty in the music industry
So many chromes, now they getting me vexed
Expressing irritation with the abundance of expensive and unnecessary car rims
Upset and insane in how the game gonna change shit
Feeling frustrated and confused about how the music industry changes constantly
Sounding the same, and it's a ma' fucking shame
Observing that many artists sound similar and unoriginal
While lames think they flow so sick, getting excited
Observing that some untalented artists think their music is incredible and hype themselves up
Yeah, they got a sick flow, it's called the 'Young hoe virus'
Insinuating that overhyped and untalented rap music is like a contagious virus
But, let me fall back into character
Returning to the artist's original style and persona
B got so hot, never been an amateur
Boasting about the artist's success and talent
Ask the locals, boy it's lo-co
Encouraging people to ask local audiences about the artist's popularity
Never stop my flow, wanna go pro, you know
Asserting the artist's dedication to music and the desire to succeed professionally
Check the history, started with the R's
Reminding people of the artist's background and origins
Now I'm running with the line, four time, no mystery
Proudly stating that the artist is now part of Ruff Ryders and has been successful four times
Dog, tryna position me to get in the door
Describing attempts to get the artist's music recognized by the music industry
But since the door don't open wide enough, we rippin' it off
Revealing that the artist and record label will succeed regardless of industry acceptance or support
Step up, nigga, sit down, put your shit down
Challenging people to prove themselves and put in work
Clowns ain't even built for the circus, I'm about to pop this nigga
Insinuating that untalented artists are like clowns and are not fit for the music industry
Tah, yeah you right, soon as your man make it dead at night
Confirming agreement with a friend's advice about avoiding conflict
I'll be there, aight
Swearing loyalty and support to a friend
Everything stops, money turns on the light
Describing how money can affect events and decisions
And pa pop pop pop
Imitating the sound of gunfire
None stop shots ringing out, cowards hit the ground
Describing a violent scenario in which the weaker people fear for their lives
I came to get down if you came to get down
Determined to succeed even if it means taking action
Blow the pound up, niggaz wanna what with us
Encouraging people to party and enjoy themselves
Bloodline and the dog I trust, so for the dog I bust
Expressing loyalty and commitment to the record label Bloodline and the artist X
That thang, catch me while
Describing that the artist is armed and warning others to be careful
I'm up in the truck with that thang
Describing the artist's car and weapons
Dog get the word, it's a must that I bang
Revealing that the artist may have to use violence to succeed or defend themselves
And trust me, I'm gonna do my motherfuckin' thang
Asserting confidence in the artist's abilities and goals
Come on man
Encouraging others to join or follow
Ya niggaz don't know
Implying that others are ignorant or unaware of the artist's power and success
What the fuck this shit is
Acknowledging that some may not understand or appreciate the music
Gutter
Expressing toughness or grittiness
Gutter
Expressing toughness or grittiness
Gutter
Expressing toughness or grittiness
Gutter
Expressing toughness or grittiness
Contributed by Evelyn A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.