Stan Getz With Cal Tjader

Performer: Stan Getz/Stan Getz Sextet/Cal Tjader
Artist: Billy Higgins; Vince Guaraldi
Distributor: Fantasy (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Stan Getz (tenor saxophone); Cal Tjader (vibraphone); Vince Guaraldi (piano); Eddie Duran (guitar); Scott LaFaro (bass); Billy Higgins (drums). Recorded at Circle Record Studios, San Francisco, California on February 8, 1958. Originally released on Fantasy (3266). Includes liner notes by Ralph J. Gleason. In the vein of many a smooth West Coast jazz outing, this 1958 disc finds original cool stylist Getz paired with vibraphonist Cal Tjader on a very enjoyable selection of jazz standards and Tjader originals. The lineup includes pianist Vince Guaraldi, guitarist Eddie Duran, bassist Scott La Faro, and drummer Billy Higgins (this was one of the earliest record dates for either La Faro or Higgins, both of whom were playing with Getz at San Francisco's Black Hawk in between recording sessions). Guaraldi's spry "Ginza Samba" kicks thing off with nimble and imaginative statements by all the soloists. Tjader's swinging originals "Crow's Nest" and "Big Bear" provide prime solo vehicles as well, while his lovely waltz number "Liz-Anne" adds some nice contrast to the set, eliciting one of Getz's best solos in the process. The group rounds things out with fine ballad readings of "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" and "For All We Know." A suitable title for both Getz and Tjader fans. Highly recommended. ~ Stephen Cook An amazing ad-hoc session, thrown together in a San Francisco studio with now legendary personnel from two different groups. The lineup says it all -- a meeting of the Latin jazz maestro and the future champion of Brazilian jazz, plus, from Tjader's group, Vince Guaraldi on piano and guitarist Eddie Duran, and from Getz's band, the then unknown teenager Scott LaFaro on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. A moment for the history books is an 11-minute workout on Guaraldi's pentatonic souvenir of Tokyo, "Ginza Samba," where the fast-samba theme finds Getz blowing to a Brazilian rhythm four years before "Desafinado." The jamming, though, is in a straight-ahead bebop groove where Getz's eloquence unfolds with almost unearthly ease. The rest of the album alternates between lyric ballads and solid, though non-Latin, swinging where Tjader, Guaraldi, and Duran graft onto the great Getz rhythm section like they've been playing together for decades (check out the funky combustion on "Crow's Nest"). Collectors' note: when Getz became a bossa nova star, this album was reissued in 1963 as Stan Getz With Cal Tjader with a different set of liner notes and remains available on LP and cassette in this form. ~ Richard S. Ginell STAN GETZ WITH CAL TJADER is a classic, not only because it pairs the renowned tenor player (Getz) with the great vibraphonist (Tjader), but because the additional personnel on the session make it something of an all-star date. Drummer Billy Higgins, still some time away from his work on the groundbreaking experiments of Ornette Coleman, appears here on one of his first sessions. Bassist Scott LaFaro, who would achieve fame as a member of Bill Evans's legendary trio, also makes an early appearance. Pianist Vince Guaraldi, a leader and composer in his own right (his "Ginza Samba" is one of the highlights on the set), sits in, as does fleet-fingered guitarist Eddie Duran. The ensemble--which has a lively, robust sound due to the instrumentation--moves effortlessly between highly lyrical ballads and fierce, up-tempo bop. The set includes several Tjader tunes, including the smart and swinging "Crow's Nest" and "Big Bear," while the group's treatment of the standard "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" displays remarkable sensitivity and sweetness. Though Tjader and Getz are naturally in the forefront throughout--they both balance shimmering, cool tones with dazzling dexterity--there is fine soloing from all involved, making this a consistently superb set.

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