Search - Stan Getz :: 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

Heart-Stopping, Breezy and Beautiful Music

Rebecca*rhapsodyinblue* | CA USA | 04/15/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""The Best of Stan Getz" is one of the series of 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection honoring great jazz legends. It is a welcome addition not only to fans of Stan Getz, but also to any jazz lover's collection. These are some of the best tunes from Stan Getz discography that were taken from ten different albums, which he recorded in 1950s and 1960s. The first five tracks are Bossa Nova staples produced by Creed Taylor under CTI Records, and most of the tracks were produced by Norman Granz under Verve Records.



Stan Getz, known for his distinctively beautiful tones, was arguably one of the best saxophonists of all-time. He had a fruitful musical career as evident in the many hit albums he recorded with some of the greatest jazz legends - the likes of Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Oscar Peterson, Horace Silver, Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto and most significantly, Astrud Gilberto.



The cool and breezy rhythm of "The Girl From Ipanema" featuring its famous composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim, is just the perfect opening number. Husband-and-wife João and Astrud Gilberto provide the enthralling vocals done in both Portuguese and English lyrics. As known to many fans of Getz, this song is his biggest hit and the catalyst that recognized him as one of the very best sax players America ever produced.



How could any music lover ignore the heart-stopping beauties of "Desafinado," "Manha De Carnival" and "Samba De Uma Nota So?" These are the most beautiful interpretations ever recorded in the history of jazz. It's as if these charming melodies were exclusively composed for Stan Getz only. He made them his own. "Desafinado" and "Samba De Uma Nota So" can also be heard in Jazz Samba, one of the very best classic jazz albums of all-time.



His incredible artistry was not only focused on Bossa Nova staples, he was also pretty at ease playing the standards from the great American Songbook such as my all-time favorites -- heart-stopping "Early Autumn," swingy "Like Someone In Love," lovely "East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)" and jazzy "Night And Day" featuring Bill Evans on piano - this track was taken from Stan Getz & Bill Evans. Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "A House Is Not A Home" and Jim Webb's "Didn't We" are exquisite highlights and easy on the ears.



This is simply a breathtakingly-beautiful CD that I strongly recommend for your listening pleasure forever."