One of the greatest tenor saxophonists of jazz, Stan Getz
was known as "The Sound" because of his beautiful
tone. He was born on February 2, 1927. Getz was playing
professionally by the age of 15. Within a year he appeared
on his first records, playing with Jack
Teagarden. He soon worked with Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey
and Benny Goodman. Getz gained widespread recognition as
a member of Woody Herman's "Four Brothers" band
in 1947. In the 1950s he began leading his own group and
also played with Kenton and Jazz At The Philharmonic.
Getz helped popularize bossa nova in 1961 when he recorded Jazz Samba with Charlie Byrd. They had a hit with "Desafinado." He made more bossa nova influenced albums with Gary McFarland's big band, Luiz Bonfa, and Laurindo Almeida. The Getz/Gilberto album was a collaboration with Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto. It was his biggest seller because of the huge hit, "The Girl From Ipanema," featuring vocalist Astrud Gilberto. Throughout the rest of the '60s and '70s Getz moved away from bossa nova and latin influenced music and played harder edged jazz. His groups groups featured young musicians such as Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Jimmy Raney, Al Haig, Steve Swallow, Airto Moreira and JoAnne Brackeen. He continued to play in the '80s, but he was suffering from cancer and died June 6, 1991.
