Toronto – Being a musician can be tough. As with any art, it can be a life of struggles to sell your creativity on the open market. But the rewards can be huge for those who hit the big time. It is to these select few that we shower with celebrity and fame. Getting there is a point of great accomplishment in any musical career. But what does it cost to attain commercial viability?
“Let’s face it—we’d all sound like that if we could.”
- John Coltrane
Striving to search for a sound that can connect with a wider audience can be a good thing. It can push a musician to progress as an artist. But it is a precarious balance; striving for commercial success can also cause musicians to appeal to the lowest common denominator. When commercial success is attained through this sort of compromise, it’s a tough pill to swallow for the artist with integrity. This MTV is not for free. The most fortunate ones attain mass appeal while still maintaining the sincerity of their art. They garner the respect of their fellow musicians, and the adulation of their fans.
Stan Getz was just such an artist. Born in Philadelphia in 1927, Getz was a professional musician by 15 and became one of the greatest tenor saxophonists during the cool jazz movement of the 50’s and 60’s. Getz could swing with the best, but he really hit mass appeal in the early 60’s when he teamed up with the likes of Jao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Both were young Brazilian musicians who were pioneering a new sound in America, the Bossa Nova. Together they recorded the hit “The Girl From Ipanema” on the hit album Getz/Gilberto. This album went on to win a Grammy in 1964 for Album Of The Year. The next jazz artist to receive this accolade was Herbie Hancock, 44 years later.
He earned the respect of his musical contemporaries and the support of the fans. In this respect at least, Stan Getz was the Radiohead of the 1960’s.
Getz crafted a tone so smooth and distinct the he earned himself the moniker “The Sound”. John Coltrane once said of Getz’s tone, “Let’s face it—we’d all sound like that if we could.” As far as the world of music in the 60’s goes, Getz had stumbled upon that holy grail of commercial success and artistic integrity. He earned the respect of his musical contemporaries and the support of the fans. In this respect at least, Stan Getz was the Radiohead of the 1960’s. Although Getz is now mostly known for his contributions to Bossa Nova, he spent most of his career playing a more traditional type of “cool jazz”, also dubbed West Coast Jazz.
My 2nd instalment of Jazz in Review covers the album The Stan Getz & the Oscar Peterson Trio. It features the Canadian-born jazz virtuoso Oscar Peterson, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown. This is one of my favourite albums of all time. While I do enjoy the Bossa Nova Getz, I really love his straight-up traditional accoustic jazz. This album is a fantastic introduction to the signature styles of both Getz and Peterson. It swings, it bops, it’s smooth, and best of all, it’s earnest.
As much as I admire Stan Getz as a musician, his life outside of music was not without struggle. He battled with addiction for much of his life, first heroine and later alcohol. In 1954 Getz made a clumsy attempt to rob a drug store in an attempt to get some morphine. During recording sessions with top jazz musicians in the 80’s, he would apologize profusely despite their protests because he felt his sober and drug-free playing wasn’t up to snuff. Sometimes we music-lovers forget that our heroes are human too, and Stan Getz was no exception. While he made mistakes, as we all do, he played music with a lyricism and honesty that few can match.
