Compact Jazz: Stan Getz

Performer: Stan Getz
Artist: Astrud Gilberto; Luiz Bonfa; Antonio Carlos Jobim; Charlie Byrd; Chick Corea; Gary Burton; Joao Gilberto
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Although editions of Verve's Compact Jazz series can be misguided, they at least offer curious listeners a fairly good budget introduction to some of jazz's biggest figures. This time out, Stan Getz is on tap with many of his biggest sides from the '60s. Erring heavily on the bossa nova end of things, the 12-track set includes his most popular cut, "Girl From Ipanema" (featuring Astrud Gilberto), as well as other samba gems like "Desafinado," "O Pato (The Duck)," and "Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)." The rest is taken up by ballads -- never a bad thing, especially since Getz cut some of the best. A more balanced program would have helped (some bop and later material, maybe), but for the price, this still makes for some high-end listening. ~ Stephen Cook

Tenor saxophonist Stan Getz possessed a full, luxuriant tone and a highly melodic improvisational sense. Though he produced consistently rewarding music for the duration of his near 50-year career, he achieved the greatest success in the early '60s when he led the American part of the bossa nova explosion. Indeed, this brilliant fusion of jazz and Brazilian rhythms yielded the tune, "The Girl From Ipanema," which became one of the biggest selling jazz records in history.

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