Yes, I know! Someone’s going to contact me and get on my case about John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins. Don’t even bring up anyone after those guys; just remember that during the time this recording was made, John Coltrane was quoted as saying “Everyone wants to sound like Stan Getz.” Yes, there is Hawkins, Young, Webster and others, but Getz is the guy you always want to listen to, no matter the mood.
And Getz was in a good mood on these concert recordings from Amsterdam, Dusseldorf and Zurich on a 1960 tour with Jan Johansson/p, Ray Brown/b and Ed Thigpen/dr. He cries like a baby with his gloriously desultory vibrato on “The Thrill Is Gone” and sways like linen drapes on “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most.” He’s also able to flex his muscles, but it never gets over indulgent. “Woody ‘n You” and “Cherokee” feel effortless as the heat builds up after each chorus, with the rhythm section humming like a V8 engine. Johanson touches the ivories like a young Kenny Barron as Getz plays with upper and lower registers on “Out of Nowhere” while Thigpen digs deep and digs in, finally coming up for air in a wrestling match with the tenorist on relentless “Lover, Come Back to Me.”
And, he didn’t do it much, but when he did play the blues as on “Land’s End” he sounds like Picasso’s blue period with rich shades, textures and pastels all through the melody and variations. The recording quality is wonderful, the liner notes are informative and the music itself is simply life affirming.
Fresh Sound Records