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Stan Getz 1927 - 1991

Stanley Getz was born on February 2, 1927 at Philadelphia but raised in the Bronx., and died at age 64 years old on June 6, 1991.

Stanley Getz

Stanley Gayetsky

February 2, 1927

Philadelphia but raised in the Bronx.

June 6, 1991

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Stan Getz Stanley Getz (1927 - 1991)

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Stanley Getz's History: 1927 - 1991

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02/2

1927

Birthday

February 2, 1927

Birthdate

Philadelphia but raised in the Bronx.

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

Stan Getz was born on February 2, 1927, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.[2] Getz's father 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 Kiev area of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine) but had migrated to escape the anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire 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. 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, received 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 at the age of 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.
Professional Career

Stan Getz American musician Alternate titles: Stanley Getz BY The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica | View Edit History FAST FACTS 2-Min Summary Born: February 2, 1927, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Died: June 6, 1991 (aged 64) Malibu, California Awards And Honors: Grammy Award (1991) Grammy Award (1964) Grammy Award (1962) Stan Getz, byname of Stanley Getz, (born Feb. 2, 1927, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—died June 6, 1991, Malibu, Calif.), American jazz tenor saxophonist, perhaps the best-known musician of jazz’s “cool school,” noted for his mellow, lush tone. Getz began studying the saxophone at age 13 and made his professional debut at 15. He played with the bands of Jack Teagarden, Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman, and he made some recordings under his own name in 1946. Getz’s breakthrough came the following year when he was hired for Woody Herman’s Second Herd orchestra. As a member of an unusual sax section—three tenors and a baritone—Getz was one of the Herman band’s “Four Brothers,” who specialized in cool-toned modern jazz. Noted Getz solos during his tenure with Herman include his turn on the song “Four Brothers” (1947) and, especially, his celebrated performance of “Early Autumn” (1948). His tone was featherlight, vibratoless, and pure and showed the influence of his idol, Lester Young. Within a few years, Getz would perfect his own somewhat detached style, the cool jazz characteristic of the West Coast jazz movement, in which overt emotionalism was held in check. Background: acoustic guitar side view, string, fingerboard, music BRITANNICA QUIZ Music: Fact or Fiction? Was Mozart murdered? Was Lady Gaga really born that way? And did the Jefferson Airplane start out as a classical music group? Settle the score with this quiz. For the next few years, Getz led quartets and quintets that featured such discoveries as pianist Horace Silver, guitarist Jimmy Raney, and trombonist Bob Brookmeyer. Getz was also prominently featured on guitarist Johnny Smith’s hit recording of “Moonlight in Vermont” in 1952. He worked sporadically with Stan Kenton during this period and participated in several of Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts in Los Angeles. Getz lived in Europe from 1958 to early 1961. He continued to make well-respected recordings during this time with other American jazz expatriates, including Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke. Upon his return to the United States in 1961, Getz teamed with arranger Eddie Sauter to record Focus, an album that many regard as Getz’s masterpiece. He worked with guitarist Charlie Byrd on the album that ushered in the bossa nova era, Jazz Samba (1962), which included their hit recording of “Desafinado.” Getz became further associated with bossa nova through his subsequent work with Gary McFarland, Luiz Bonfa, and Laurindo Almeida. For the album Getz/Gilberto (1963), which became one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, Getz collaborated with the legendary Brazilian musicians João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim; for one track, “The Girl from Ipanema,” Gilberto’s wife, Astrud, who had never sung professionally, was a last-minute addition on vocals. Her somewhat naive, blasé delivery suited the tune and complimented Getz’s sax playing perfectly, and the recording became the biggest hit of Getz’s career when it was later released as a single. Although Getz thereafter inevitably was linked with bossa nova, he rarely returned to the form after the early 1960s. He usually performed with his own groups, which featured Gary Burton’s vibraphone in lieu of the usual piano. His other noted work of this period included collaborations with pianists Bill Evans and Chick Corea. Getz incorporated rock rhythms and instrumentation on many of his recordings of the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. He also dabbled infusion during the late 1970s and annoyed many longtime fans by using a digital echo effect on his saxophone. To the delight of purists, Getz returned to traditional acoustic jazz instrumentation in 1981 and stayed with such arrangements for the remainder of his career, which included an association with Stanford University from 1982 until his death. Although the West Coast jazz movement had detractors who disdained what they saw as its emotionless, academic approach, Getz remained universally revered among critics and fellow musicians for his sound and his melodic creativity. As John Coltrane said of Getz’s style, “Let’s face it—we’d all sound like that if we could.”
06/6

1991

Death

June 6, 1991

Death date

Liver Cancer.

Cause of death

Unknown
Death location

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Obituary

Stan Getz, one of jazz's best-known figures and most explosively imaginative tenor saxophonists, died yesterday afternoon at his home in Malibu, Calif. He was 64 years old. The cause of death was liver cancer, said his secretary, Maggie Crim, who was at the house. Mr. Getz was an extraordinary improviser who over his career created his own sound and vocabulary, winning 11 Grammys in the process. With a light but immense sound, Mr. Getz managed to capture both romanticism and jazz toughness. Though he preferred ballads and medium-tempo tunes, Mr. Getz was also a master of uptempo tunes, his solos always showing an innate logic. Just as important as being an improviser, Mr. Getz was, even more, a melodist. His ability to improvise skeins of beautiful melodies made him one of jazz's best-known musicians. "I loved Stan Getz," said Dizzy Gillespie, with whom Mr. Getz recorded several times in the 1950s. "His major contribution to jazz was melody. He's the best melody player in jazz. And an incredible soloist, but I loved his melodies. He's right up there with all of them, all the greats. You can't get any better than him." Mr. Getz was born in Philadelphia in 1927 and grew up in the Bronx. It was clear early that he was a natural musician. He started playing bass in junior high school, moved into bassoon his first year in high school, and in a year was chosen for the All-City High School Orchestra. Though his conductor offered to get him a scholarship to Juilliard, he turned it down for a career in jazz. By the time he was 15, he was working professionally. That year, Mr. Getz went out on the road with Jack Teagarden's band. After moving to Los Angeles the same year, he replaced Art Pepper in Stan Kenton's orchestra, only to quit after Mr. Kenton said he thought the saxophonist Lester Young was too simple. Mr. Getz had become a disciple of Mr. Young, and that simplicity was a hallmark of his playing from then on. Mr. Getz never had much formal training, and he turned it to his advantage. "I was 20 when I first started playing with Stan," said Gary Burton, the vibraphonist. "One of the big things Stan taught me was how to play simply. He'd solo simply, and I'd be trying all kinds of complicated things, but the audience would be wiped out by what he'd do. I said to myself that I was missing something, and I spent three years learning from him the depth that's possible from music." A Distinctive Sound In the 1940s Mr. Getz joined Jimmy Dorsey's band and Benny Goodman's band, with whom he recorded his first solo. In 1946, he made his first record under his own name, with Charlie Parker's rhythm section, which included Max Roach. "He was a young kid that was hanging around 52d Street," said Mr. Roach, "and he had phenomenal ears and his own way of dealing with the music. I had a great deal of respect for him as a musician because he was an individual. And I loved him as one of the guys." By then, Mr. Getz's sound was becoming his own -- it became known as the Long Island Sound by musicians. Reedy but full, it would change into a strangled cry on command. It gave the impression of being fully relaxed, but Mr. Getz saved himself from sentimentality with his hard, acute rhythmic sense. "His sound was incredible," said Kenny Barron, the pianist, who worked with Mr. Getz for the last six years of his life. "Everything he played was first-rate, and he was one of the last of the masters whom you could recognize by the first few notes -- it was that sound of his. And playing ballads, there's no one like him." In 1947, Mr. Getz, Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, and Serge Chaloff came together in Woody Herman's big band and created the famous Four Brothers sound. A year later, Mr. Getz recorded "Early Autumn," which made him well enough known to start recording and appearing under his own name with a now-legendary group that included Jimmy Raney, the guitarist. Alcohol and Heroin Problems In the early 1950s, Mr. Getz solidified his reputation as a dramatic improviser with a distinct group sound. But in the middle of the decade, addicted to both alcohol and heroin, which he had started using at age 16, he was arrested after robbing a drugstore; Mr. Getz had recurring problems for the next several decades. His addictions did not seem to affect his playing. In 1957, he was recorded in a classic live performance that was released as "Jazz at the Opera House." To avoid legal problems, Mr. Getz moved to Denmark in 1958, and when he returned to the United States three years later, he found that he had been left behind. The innovations of Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman had shaken the jazz world. Mr. Getz embarked on mastering the new idioms, with a discipline and curiosity he never lost. He recorded another masterwork, "Focus," an album arranged by Eddie Sauter, the composer. He courted young musicians, including Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Tony Williams, who could challenge him with new harmonies and rhythms. In 1962, Mr. Getz and Charlie Byrd recorded a set of Brazilian tunes that were released as an album called "Jazz Samba." It not only turned Mr. Getz into a pop star but also put jazz firmly on the pop charts. In 1980 Mr. Getz left his second wife, Monica, to whom he had been married for 24 years. The divorce was granted in 1987 after a long and particularly bitter battle. Ms. Getz continued to try to have it overturned, last year taking it to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. For many critics and fans, the 1980s saw Mr. Getz in a new phase of his career, turning out several well-received recordings, including "Anniversary." In 1987, Mr. Getz was found to have cancer; he kept performing and recorded several albums in the last few months of his life. He is survived by three sons, Stephen, David, and Nicholas, and two daughters, Beverly McGovern and Pamela Raynor.

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Stan Getz lived 10 years shorter than the average family member when died at the age of 64.

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8 Memories, Stories & Photos about Stanley

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

01/16/2022

Stan Getz.

Saxophone Player.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

01/16/2022

Stan Getz.

He was married for a very long time.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

01/16/2022

Stan getz.

Musician.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

01/16/2022

Stan Getz.

Jazz Musician.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

01/16/2022

Stan getz.

Died from liver cancer caused by alcohol and heroin.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

01/16/2022

Stan Getz.

Married twice with 5 kids.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

01/16/2022

Stan Getz.

Playing his saxophone.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

01/16/2022

Kenny G just released a new album - January 2022 - dedicated to Stan Getz.
Since I knew nothing about Stan except his name - I decided to learn all about him by creating this tribute to him. The best thing I learned was about his wife who put up with him and raised his 5 children and got shafted in the end. I divorced a millionaire and got $100 a month in child support, but something good came out of it. My female lawyer got disbarred.

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Stanley Getz's Family Tree & Friends

Stanley Getz's Family Tree

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Stan Getz Feb 2, 1927 - Jun 6, 1991

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