Stan Getz


Getz, Stan,

1927–91, American jazz tenor saxophonist, b. Philadelphia, as Stanley Gayetsky. As a mature musician he was especially known for his "cool" jazz style. He began playing as a teenager in Jack Teagarden's band, later appearing with bandleading greats Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny GoodmanGoodman, Benny
(Benjamin David Goodman), 1909–86, American clarinetist, composer, and band leader, b. Chicago. Goodman studied clarinet at Hull House. In Chicago he had the opportunity to hear (and eventually to play beside) some of the outstanding jazz musicians of the
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, and Woody Herman. His early playing was heavily influenced by Lester YoungYoung, Lester Willis,
1909–59, American jazz musician, b. Woodville, Miss. He played the tenor saxophone with various bands (1929–40), including those of Fletcher Henderson and Count Basie, with whom he first recorded in 1936.
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, and he recorded a number of singles with the likes of Dizzy GillespieGillespie, Dizzy
(John Birks Gillespie) , 1917–93, American jazz musician and composer, b. Cheraw, S.C. He began to play the trumpet at 15 and later studied harmony and theory at Laurinburg Institute, N.C. He played with the bands of Cab Calloway and Billy Eckstine.
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 and Gerry Mulligan. During the 1960s Getz experimented with the Brazilian bossa nova sound, which was particularly suited to his breathy style and resulted in such hit records as "Desafinado" and "The Girl from Ipanema." His later work continued to be improvisational, expressive, emotional, and highly melodic, but with a somewhat harder edge.

Getz, (Stanley) Stan

(1927–91) jazz musician; born in Philadelphia. He was a tenor saxophonist whose cool, lyrical beauty established him as one of the most celebrated stylists in modern jazz. He was a sideman with Jack Teagarden and Benny Goodman before his emergence with the Woody Herman Orchestra in 1947–49. He led his own small groups from 1951 until his death. In the 1960s, he helped to popularize the bossa nova jazz style.