Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott Yanow as "one of the all-time great tenor saxophonists". Getz performed in bebop and cool jazz groups. Influenced by João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim, he also helped popularize bossa nova in the United States with the hit 1964 single "The Girl from Ipanema".

Stan Getz was born on February 2, 1927, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Getz's father Alexander ("Al") was born in Mile End, London, in 1904, while his mother Goldie (née Yampolsky) was born in Philadelphia in 1907. His paternal grandparents Harris and Beckie Gayetski were originally from the Kyiv area of Ukraine but had migrated to escape the anti-Jewish pogroms to Whitechapel, in the East End of London. While in England they owned the Harris Tailor Shop at 52 Oxford Street for more than 13 years. In 1913, Harris and Beckie emigrated to the United States with their three sons Al, Phil, and Ben, following their son Louis Gayetski who had emigrated to the US the year before. Getz's original family name, "Gayetski", was changed to Getz upon arrival in America.

The Getz family first settled in Philadelphia, but during the Great Depression the family moved to New York City, seeking better employment opportunities. Getz worked hard in school, receiving straight A's, and finished sixth grade close to the top of his class. Getz's major interest was in musical instruments and he played a number of them before his father bought him his first saxophone when he was 13. Even though his father also got him a clarinet, Getz instantly fell in love with the saxophone and began practicing eight hours a day.

Getz attended James Monroe High School in the Bronx. In 1941, he was accepted into the All-City High School Orchestra of New York City. This gave him a chance to receive private, free tutoring from the New York Philharmonic's Simon Kovar, a bassoon player. He also continued playing the saxophone. He eventually dropped out of school in order to pursue his musical career but was later sent back to the classroom by the school system's truancy officers.

In 1943, at the age of 16, he joined Jack Teagarden's band and, because of his youth, he became Teagarden's ward. Getz also played along with Nat King Cole and Lionel Hampton. A period based in Los Angeles with Stan Kenton was brief. Following a comment from Kenton that his main influence, Lester Young, was too simple, he quit. After performing with Jimmy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman, Getz was a soloist with Woody Herman from 1947 to 1949 in "The Second Herd", and he first gained wide attention as one of the band's saxophonists, who were known collectively as "The Four Brothers"; the others being Serge Chaloff, Zoot Sims and Herbie Steward. With Herman, he had a hit with "Early Autumn" in 1948. ...

Source: Article "Stan Getz" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Stanley Gayetzsky, plus connu sous le nom de Stan Getz (né le 2 février 1927 à Philadelphie en Pennsylvanie — mort le 6 juin 1991 à Malibu en Californie), est un saxophoniste américain. Il est considéré comme l'un des plus grands joueurs de saxophone ténor. On le surnommait «The Sound» («Le Son»), en raison de sa sonorité immédiatement identifiable.

Après s'être essayé au basson et à la contrebasse, Stan Getz fait ses débuts au saxophone ténor chez Dick Rogers en 1942, alors qu'il a 15 ans. Avant d'être engagé par Stan Kenton en 1944, il effectue des stages chez Jack Teagarden, Dale Jones et Bob Chester. Puis il joue avec les orchestres de Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Randy Brooks, Buddy Morrow et Herbie Fields. Installé en Californie, il s'associe avec Butch Jones, dirige un trio, et est engagé par Woody Herman (1947-1949). Au sein de cette formation, il participe aux travaux des Four Brothers, surnom de la section des saxophonistes où figurent Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward et Serge Chaloff et enregistre en 1948 deux titres Four brothers et Early autumn dont le solo est passé à la postérité.

En 1950, il enregistre des séances en leader pour le label Roost avec les pianistes Al Haig et Horace Silver. De 1951 à 1952, il joue avec le guitariste Jimmy Raney qui a rencontré Getz pour la première fois en 1945 à Chicago. Il enregistre notamment avec lui une remarquable séance «live» au Storyville de Boston le 28 octobre 1951. Il signe un contrat avec le producteur Norman Granz à la fin de l'année 1952. Il est accompagné pour ses premières séances pour Granz par le pianiste Duke Jordan. La pochette de l'album The Artistry of Stan Getz montre Getz recevant un baiser de son jeune fils. L'instabilité causée par sa consommation de drogues provoque le départ de Jimmy Raney en cette fin d'année 1952. Il est remplacé par le tromboniste Bob Brookmeyer. En juin 1953, il joue avec Chet Baker au club d'Hollywood "The Haig". En décembre 1953, il enregistre avec Dizzy Gillespie. Ce même mois, il est arrêté pour consommation d'héroïne. Le mois suivant, il est arrêté une nouvelle fois pour vol de barbituriques dans une pharmacie de Seattle. Des photographies de cette dernière arrestation sont largement diffusées dans la presse. Entre ces deux arrestations, il enregistre une séance avec le pianiste Jimmy Rowles.

De 1955 et 1957, il enregistre abondamment pour le label Verve de Norman Granz avec Lionel Hampton, Sonny Stitt, Gerry Mulligan, Conte Candoli, Lou Levy. Il participe aux concerts du JATP, dont le mémorable concert du 29 septembre 1957 à l'Opéra House de Chicago avec Jay Jay Johnson et Oscar Peterson. En 1958, il se produit en Europe et participe à Paris à la bande originale du film Les Tricheurs. En 1961, il enregistre, accompagné d'un orchestre symphonique, le disque ambitieux Focus avec le compositeur et arrangeur Eddie Sauter. ...

Source: Article "Stan Getz" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.