STAN GETZ — Getz/Gilberto (review)

Album · 1964 · Bossa Nova

4.5/5 · 2025-02-01
FunkFreak75

Don't overlook the fact that both Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto grace this album--it's not just Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto.

A1. "The Girl From Ipanema" (5:15) can a song get more perfect than this one?! (10/10)

A2. "Doralice" (2:45) Joao Gilberto is a smooth singer but not quite as smooth as Stan Getz is with his breathy tenor sax. Sexy! (9.125/10)

A3. "Para Machuchar Meu Coração (To Hurt My Heart)" (5:07) another bossa nova song that sounds like a classic with a slightly louder presence given to both the percussion and to Antonio's piano. Even Joao's voice is mixed much more into the foreground--as if he's singing to you while you're in his arms on the dance floor! Also unusual for the bulk of the album is the amount of time that the singing is given versus that to Mr. Getz' sax (or S. Jobim's piano). I have to admit that this song is not my favorite--the melodies don't grab me as well as many of the album's other songs--and yet the smooth, perfectly-arranged and -mixed instrumental performances seem flawless. (8.875/10)

A4. "Desafinado" (4:05) another iconic song, sung so smoothly by Joao Gilberto over the perfect Spanish guitar and piano tinkling support. At the end of the second minute Joao stops singing and Stan jumps right in over the exact same accompaniment and motif, playing rather closely with the main melody, only branching out on his own in his second time through the verse. Beautiful (which is an understatement). The finale with Joao's vocalese bass notes and the little is (9.5/10)

B1. "Corcovado" (4:15) Astrud and Joao take turns spinning their magical voices over Jobim's piano and Joao's Spanish guitar while Tommy Williams and Milton Banana hold the line beneath all of them. Stan merely makes appearances in-between the vocals. Beautiful. Probably a hit in Brasíl as popular as "The Girl … " (9/10)

B2. "Só Danço Samba (Jazz Samba)" (3:30) another beautiful and subtly nuanced romantic dance tune with Joao performing the lead vocal over piano, plucked guitar chords, bass and brushed drums with Stan providing a longer, more impassioned sax solo in the second and third minutes. Great melodies, rhythm, and some flashy sax play from the maestro. (9.125/10)

B3. "O Grande Amor" (5:25) this one opens with some plaintive sax play with minimal support from Jobim's piano beneath. Then the rhythm section joins in, ramping the pace up into a danceable bossa nova. At the 1:15 mark Stan backs down as Joao enters singing in a much lower (almost strained) voice. He sounds serious and contemplative. Stan returns in the third minute for the next solo, eventually yielding to Antonio's piano for a bit before retaking the lead for the final minute. Nice. I can definitely see why Stan Getz was so popular: he's so smooth and respectful of the audience's love for melody and emotion. (9/10)

B4. "Vivo Sonhando" (2:52) the usual lineup and sound palette with Joao opening up in the lead with his singing, by the end of the first minute it turns to Stan's sax to take the lead, and, I swear, he out smooth's one of the smoothest voices I've ever heard with a very breathy, delicately performed solo to the song's end. (9.25/10)

Total time: 33:14

How can one find fault with this sublime and pacifying collection of songs? And does anyone else notice the remarkable similarities in Jobim's piano playing style to that of modern master, Diana Krall? No wonder Ms. Krall has covered so many bossa nova, samba, and other Latin styled songs. Again, this, my first direct exposure to the saxophone play of Stan Getz, definitely conveys many reasons for Señor Getz's tremendous popularity and place in the history of both jazz and popular music.

A/five stars; a masterpiece of absolutely sublime genre-blending, cross-cultural music. How could one deny the popularity of bossa nova in the United States when albums like this were being made?