1961 was the year before
Stan Getz
's and
Charlie Byrd
's smash
Jazz Samba
recording appeared. The album's success netted an influence so imposing it impacted the direction of the saxophonist's creative life. Before this, there was scant recorded evidence to document where
Getz
was headed after he returned to America from a three-year sojourn in Copenhagen.
recorded
Focus
with
Eddie Sauter
in the summer of 1961, and in the fall,
Stan Getz & Bob Brookmeyer: Recorded Fall 1961
was recorded with the other members of his "Boston Band": drummer
Roy Haynes
, pianist
Steve Kuhn
, and bassist
John Neves
. This group was captured at the Village Gate in November. Earlier that year,
formed a quartet with bassist
Scott LaFaro
that included
Kuhn
and drummer
Pete LaRoca
. By early March,
Haynes
(after the bassist's lobbying) was in the drum chair. On July 3, the quartet performed to a standing ovation at Newport; three days later,
LaFaro
was killed in an accident. Two weeks later, the saxist engaged
Neves
. Simultaneously,
John Coltrane
replaced
at the top of the tenor polls in 1961. His new directions -- monitored by
in Europe -- influenced the more muscular direction employed here that would evaporate on
and
. In addition,
had worked with
'Trane
before
McCoy Tyner
.
In the vaults for 58 years, these tapes contain every note of the quartet's scorching performance in New York.
's rich tone, fleet soloing, and driving rhythmic pursuit are displayed early in a storming, bop-pish read of
Cole Porter
's "It's Alright with Me."
and company also display their muscle in semi-modernist, back to back reads of
Coltrane
's "Impressions" (that
had played in the
band) and
Sonny Rollins
' "Airegin." But the swing isn't missing: it is amply displayed during the first set in buoyant, good-natured takes of
Van Heusen
Burke
's "Like Someone in Love," and
Gigi Gryce
's "Wildwood." A flaming read of
Dizzy Gillespie
's "Woody 'n You" features stunning work from
, followed by the ten-and-a-half-minute jam "Blues." The second set commences with the ballad "Where Do You Go?" followed by "Yesterday's Gardenias," a lithe midtempo swinger with some of
's most lyrical improvising in the concert. The standards continue with "Stella by Starlight" as
double times the band with a cut-time shuffle, as well as a silky version of the ballad highlight "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," which is the most soulful recorded performance by the saxophonist. The show closes with a juxtaposition of early modernism --
Thelonious Monk
's "52nd St. Theme" anthem -- and a nod to
's greatest influence
Lester Young
with a blues-drenched "Jumping with Symphony Sid." The sound on
Getz at the Gate
is warm, full, and crystalline, and the package contains a fine
Bob Blumenthal
liner essay. This concert is a major find: It shines a bright light on a historically obscure, musically adventurous period in
's career, one that represents the road not taken. ~ Thom Jurek