Stan Getz - Bossas and Ballads, The Lost Sessions (1989) [Jazz][mp3 320][h33t][schon55]

Stan Getz - Bossas and Ballads, The Lost Sessions

Year: 1989

Label: Verve (2003)

Total time: 68:48

Quality: 320 kbps



There's magic in the air. This is his first sober session--ever. He's got his hottest, most sympathetic band (Kenny Barron, piano; George Mraz, bass; Victor Lewis, drums). He's got great material to sink his teeth into. Let's start with the band. I lamented the breakup in the late 80's of perhaps the greatest post-bop unit ever, Bobby Watson's Horizon. The reason for their dissolution is now evident: Victor Lewis became available for Getz's drum chair, and emerged as his most simpatico drummer ever. Lewis has always been under appreciated. One of the deftest, most supple, and subtlest jazz drummers in the history of the music, he is absolutely perfect for this band. Likewise, it's nearly impossible to imagine anyone better for the bass chair than George Mraz. Possessed of a burnished, rich tone, absolutely perfect intonation, monster chops, deep swing, incredible musicality, and a focused yet relaxed approach to his instrument, he is the anchor around which everyone else, especially Getz and Barron, is freed up to practice their dancing, lilting magic. If you don't believe he is among the greatest jazz bassists every, simply listen to his astounding solo on "Spiral. " But perhaps even more importantly, he never inappropriately intrudes, content to use his instrument to be the means by which the stars, Getz and Barron, are enabled to shine with maximum intensity. Kenny Barron, here, emerges as perhaps the reigning jazz keyboard accompanist. One need only listen to his heartbreakingly beautiful solo at the end of "Soul Eyes" to understand that this man is among the finest jazz pianists ever. He always solos thoughtfully, though passionately, with a wonderful architectural conception and precision execution. But there's a whole lot more going on here than just impeccable musicianship. This group locks into ensemble playing with the ease and mastery of players who listen intently and converse with wit and profundity. The phrase that keeps coming back to me is "ease of expression. " You get this level of musical brilliance only with the absolute top players put into a setting that allows them complete freedom of expression. Make no mistake, this is not about pyrotechnics. No. Something much more profound, much more difficult, is going on here. Timelessness. Classicism. Joy. The high point, musically, is Mal Waldron's fabulous tune, "Soul Eyes," which the leader, amazingly, due to its prominence as a jazz standard, had apparently never heard before this session. The tune perfectly fits Getz, with its beautiful, haunting melodic line, its deep though unsentimental romanticism, and its wonderful opportunity for improvisation. Getz, not surprisingly, makes it entirely his own, and the standard against which all other performances will forever be measured. I can say without hedging that the band's rendition of this tune represents one of the finest moments in the history of jazz. Getz' solo, certain one of his finest on record, plumbs the depths of this gorgeous tune and reveals melodic nuances and riches never before uncovered in it. Interestingly, Getz sits out for the final two-and-a-half minutes, letting Barron have his crack at it. And why not? He's said, magnificently, all he wants to say, and he graciously lets his playing partner put his indelible stamp on it. But every other tune on this magnificent disc approximates or achieves this impossibly high standard. Personal favorites include the rhythmically compelling "Feojoada," a brisk samba, "The Wind," a somewhat neglected Russ Freeman (not the jazz lite guitarist) gem, and "Beatrice," a stunningly beautiful (and unlikely) composition from free-jazzer Sam Rivers. I've put off commenting on the leader's playing because I wanted to save the best for last. We all know Stan Getz was an absolute monster of the tenor sax, perhaps the greatest ever. Somewhat eclipsed by the long shadows cast by his contemporaries John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Pharoah Sanders, and to a lesser extent, Dexter Gordon, I believe he was unfairly rated slightly below the giants because he wasn't as expressionistic as them at a time when free-jazz blowing was the signature move of Important Sax Practitioners. Plus, he was too popular, achieving nearly pop-cult status during his bossa nova phase. Yet, except for Pharoah Sanders--and this is entirely a matter of taste, in my view--Getz was the absolute master of tonal expression on his instrument. And I've never heard him in finer voice. He makes his sax, by turns, sing, moan, cajole, implore, sweet-talk, whisper, instruct, seduce. His basic MO is haunting lyricism, tinged with longing and subdued joyousness deftly proclaimed in the face of sorrow. No one, ever, in the history of jazz, has had a wider range of expression on tenor sax. No one, ever, has routinely gotten such poignancy from his instrument. If he'd never recorded another record, on the strength of this session alone he would go down as among the finest players of the tenor sex. The man's range of expression is simply astounding. OK, here's the deal. This may well be the finest jazz recording ever made. I can't stop listening to it. It hasnt left my disc player for weeks. It blew me away from the opening bars, and has never ceased to work its magic on me, despite repeated listenings. I'm sure I'll be as excited about this disc a decade hence as I am now. Absolutely not to be missed. - by Jan P. Dennis, Amazon, com



Personnel:

Stan Getz (Tenor Saxophone)

Kenny Barron (Piano)

George Mraz (Double Bass)

Victor Lewis (Drums)



Stan Getz - Bossas and Ballads, The Lost Sessions Tracks:

01 Sunshower (Stan Getz) 7:20

02 Yours and Mine (Thad Jones) 8:00

03 Joanne Julia (Kenny Barron) 7:51

04 Soul Eyes (Mal Waldron) 7:23

05 Spiral (Kenny Barron) 7:54

06 Beatrice (Sam Rivers) 8:15

07 The Wind (Russ Freeman/Jerry Gladstone) 8:56

08 El Sueno (Kenny Barron) 6:36

09 Feijoada (Kenny Barron) 6:28