Track Listing

1. I Want to Be Happy
2. Pennies from Heaven
3. Ballad Medley: Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered/I Don't Know Why I J
4. I'm Glad There Is You
5. Tour's End
6. I Was Doing All Right
7. Bronx Blues
8. Three Little Words
9. Detour Ahead
10. Sunday
11. Blues for Herky

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3483 in Music
• Brand: GETZ/PETERSON TRIO
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
180gm audiophile vinyl LP pressing of this complete original album from Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio, widely regarded as one of the saxophonist's finest recordings. Jazz Track.

Amazon.com
Stan Getz and Oscar Peterson were both consummate performers, comfortable at any tempo, when they met for this 1957 recording, and they're clearly enjoying one another's skills on ballads and uptempo tunes alike. The group is one of the finest editions of Peterson's trios, with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis. It's virtually a machine for quiet swing, and the absence of a drummer lets Getz's silky sound come to the fore with all its details intact. For all his fame as a virtuosic pianist, Peterson is an underrated accompanist. He complements a soloist with deft fills and unobtrusive propulsion, and the backgrounds he supplies here are as subtle as his solos are extroverted. The program is a good mix of standards and Getz originals, including the joyous "Tour's End," while the extended ballad medley could define jazz lyricism. There's also a brief but infectious version of Ellis's "Detour Ahead," the guitarist's early and highly successful foray into songwriting. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

A dream quartet.
This CD presents a very important collaboration. Stan Getz may be the most lyrical tenor saxophone player to have ever graced the face of the earth. Only Lester Young comes close. Prez modeled his sound on that of Frankie Trumbauer's C-melody saxophone, and Getz' model is Prez. Both of them transcend Trumbauer's syrupy improvisations. Getz' tone and the lyricism it supports are evident. All of this is for context, of course. This recording is truly a major musical event. It was on a par with Lester Young's famous collaborations with Teddy Wilson and Oscar Peterson. During this 1957 recording session, all of which is on the CD, Peterson's trio and Getz were more than comfortable with one another, and their mutual musical respect yielded classic performances . The cooperation is evident in Getz' solo on "I Want to Be Happy," a model of precision and lyrical invention. Peterson's solos are equally impressive; there's no unnecessary embellishment or decoration, and he swings powerfully. The long ballad medley--"Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered," "I Don't Know Why, I Just Do," "How Long Has This Been Going On?", "I Can't Get Started," and "Polka Dots and Moonbeams"--features fine solos by Getz and Peterson as well as Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass. In the interplay between the trio and Getz in such numbers as Getz' "Bronx Blues." the quartet sounds like a permanent group. In "Three Little Words" Ellis sets down a solid rhythm and Peterson comps behind Getz' opening solo before delivering an eloquent statement of his own which Getz answers with equal grace. The Getz-Peterson collaboration is particularly appealing on Ellis' "Detour Ahead," a prime instance of their treatment of ballad material. On "Sunday" Ray Brown's persistent bass and Ellis' percussive guitar support Getz admirably. The quartet even approximates a rhythm 'n blues song with Getz' "Blues for Herky." It's not every day that you hear Herb Ellis playing blues guitar with Oscar Peterson doing boogie woogie and Stan Getz blowing like he was in a jump band. But here it is, and it comes as a surprise bonus with some really superb jazz.

IT JUST DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!
GETZ RECORDED WELL OVER ONE HUNDRED ALBUMS, AND I'D RATE THIS ONE AMONG THE BEST OF HIS BEST. I'VE WRITTEN THREE TRANSCRIPTION BOOKS ON STAN GETZ'S MUSIC, AND THIS ALBUM IS AS EXCITING ON THE 10,000TH LISTENING AS IT IS ON THE FIRST!! IT'S A GREAT REPRESENTATION OF LATE 1950'S GETZ STYLE BEFORE THE BOSSA NOVA PERIOD.

Stan + Oscar = Great music!!
This was recorded at the tail end of Stan's "California period" (1953-57), after which he would spend much time in Europe before returning to the States and establishing a base in NYC. His famous Lestorian sound, cool and lyrical, was fully established, and he loved nothing more than (and was better than just about everybody else at) playing the Great American Songbook at medium to medium-up tempos and swinging the daylights out of it.

On this CD he joins up with the Oscar Peterson Trio (Peterson (p) Herb Ellis (g) Ray Brown (b), a group that also was no stranger to the Songbook alluded to above. Stan's tone is a tad huskier than usual and deeply melodious. The first tune on the CD (I WANT TO BE HAPPY), which according to matrix numbers looks like it was the last tune recorded, is interesting in the way Peterson inspires his sidekick: taken up-tempo, Getz has the first solo spot, and he's very relaxed and sounding as if he's happy with a good day's work, but knowing they're at the end of the session, no point in sweating it; then Peterson comes on and takes a wailing solo like there's no tomorrow. Getz solos again, but this time he's on fire, inspired by Oscar's take-no-prisoners approach, and lays down his best solo on the CD. That's genius at work, from both men.

But there are many highlights on this excellent CD. PENNIES FROM HEAVEN is in a medium groove and is all Getz - very nice. TOUV'S END, based on the chords of SWEET GEORGIA BROWN, is an interesting tune and features an excellent Herb Ellis solo. BRONX BLUES, a slow blues, has a strange tag-on final chorus initiated by Oscar that sounds like he blew the cue to finish where it was supposed to. (The other blues on the CD, BLUES FOR HERKY, is a medium boogie blues, and is not exceptional.) THREE LITTLE WORDS contains a wonderful stop-time chorus by Stan near the end. And Stan's beautiful melodic playing is most obvious on the slow ballad I'M GLAD THERE IS YOU.

This CD is a great one for Stan during a period when he was producing some of his greatest work. Not only a must-have CD for Getz (or Peterson) fans, but a welcome addition to anyone's jazz CD library. It will get lots of play time, believe me.