Stan Getz: A Life in Jazz

by Donald L. Maggin

Stan Getz's prodigiously prolific musical career encompassed the tumultuous eras of big band, swing, be-bop, and free jazz. Though he is most famous for "The Girl from Ipanema," Getz's extraordinary talent established him in the pantheon of jazz greats. His legendary career is all the more impressive given the excesses of his personal He was a heroin addict until age twenty-seven; later, a violent alcoholic. Furiously self-destructive, Getz wasn't expected to outlive the 1950s, yet he continued to create beautiful music for forty more years, achieving sobriety five years before succumbing to cancer in 1991. With rich portraits of both the master and those he influenced--such giants as Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis-- Stan A Life in Jazz masterfully captures a dynamic era in music, with the artistic genius, triumphs, and tragedies of Stan Getz at its center.

Genres: Music, Biography, Jazz

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[N · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a stellar biography of one of jazz’s greatest saxophonists. With a career that began in the early 1950s and somehow outliving many of his legendary contemporaries in 1991- this reads like a great highs and lows portrait of a man whose talent really saved him from tragedy.

Although he’s most remembered for his legendary collaboration with Joao Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim from their recording of “The Girl from Ipanema” in the early 1960s- his life definitely was one of high drama.

Getz’s heroin addiction nearly derailed his career during its height, and his first wife Beverly Byrne had her own addictions as well. He is rescued by his second wife Monica who was determined to make sure his first three children with Beverly and with the two he had with her were raised with care.

Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Luis Bonfa, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Chet Baker, Gene Krupa, and Sarah Vaughan all make appearances as musical heavyweights with whom Getz deserves to be mentioned with.

I have always loved his warm, somber sounds. His musical phrasing as he plays each number and recording from his saxophone is distinct and gorgeous. It was great reading about his legacy.

[Mikey B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If one purpose of a biography is to make one detest the main subject, this succeeds.

To start positively, Stan Getz is a wonderful saxophone musician – innovative, plays with feeling and imparts a warmth that many others have not been able to attain. The author gives us his jazz history which started towards the end of World War II. In his mid-teens he was already playing in the bands of Jack Teagarden and then Benny Goodman. They saw his talent immediately. Stan really started to grow as an individual musician in the Woody Herman band. The advent of bebop and then of Miles Davis (and many others) made the 1950’s a dynamic time in jazz. Stan was right in it, spending a lot of time in New York. He flourished and became an established soloist. The author gives us a picture of this incredible era in jazz. In the early 1960’s Getz adapted Brazilian Bossa Nova to his vast repertoire, this increased his popularity as well as his financial earnings.

Stan Getz started using heroin at the age of 17. Also he became a drinker of hard liquor; Jack Teagarden was a useful guide in this area! The jazz world with its constant touring and lack of stability in terms of a home base makes it very difficult to wean yourself from any type of substance abuse.

Stan had six children – three from his first wife (who was also a heroin addict), two from his second wife, and a son (whom he hardly acknowledged) from an affair. He had very little to do with the upbringing of any of his children. His second wife took his three children, from his previous marriage, under her wing and provided them with a stable home, something that Stan (and the author) hardly acknowledges. Stan, during or after a drunken binge would go on a rampage – breaking things in the house – and sometimes physically abusing both his wife and children. The police had to be called a number of times. Honestly, I don’t know why and how his second wife put up with this.

Stan just seemed to swivel from being this genius musician on stage and the recording studio – to being a brute to his family. The author speculates as to why, but there is no absolute answer. Maybe part of the answer lies in what Stan Getz said - “music is everything to me”.

A few notes on the writing. The author gives too many details and goes on tangents. For example, Monica, Stan’s second wife, was born in Sweden. Over a few pages we are told of the marriage of one of Monica’s older relatives to the German Nazi Hermann Goering – who cares? Later in the book one of Stan’s girlfriends became a publicity advisor for a Superbowl winning coach – once more – who cares?

As with most jazz biographies there is just too much name dropping of performers in concerts and recording sessions.

And as hinted, Stan’s second wife, Monica gets short shrift from the author – no credit at all for nourishing Stan and his children.

Here is a performance -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=991uA...

[Jim Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enigma explained.

[renée · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learnt a lot of shit from this book, useful and useless. But it missed out on a lot. But it also motivated me to practice and my grades have sky rocketed since reading this book

[Randall Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stan practiced sax eight hours a day and later referred to it as learning to talk musically “off the top of his head”. He loved playing so much throughout his life he would happily play alone for the sheer joy of playing. He spent hours learning Lester Young solos note for note until he had them down perfectly. Hawkins had turned sax from a vaudeville shtick instrument into a jazz instrument and ruled until Lester Young came along in 1936. Until then the Hawkins/Armstrong school would see chords as tyrants that rule until the next chord arrives; they saw chord tones as the spine of the song to which you add non-chord tones as a spice. Lester changed it and made it a melody floating on top of an atmosphere below; instead of focusing on the notes that go with a A flat chord he wanted to instead play whatever he heard and make it fit. This included a liquid sense of metric shifting. Interestingly, Pres didn’t play songs until he had the lyrics done cold. Anyway, Pres glorified melody and Stan saw that all he had to do was spin melodies instead of acrobatics, however tough the song was. What’s more important, dazzling others with your dizzying navigation through complex chord changes (like Sonny Stitt) or your ability to sing a song? Stan also noted of Pres that “there was no hate in his music, even though this was at a time when racial things were very bad”. The criticism of Pres at the time was that his music was too simple but Stan knew better. Stan said often prep for recording meant consciously relaxing before the red light so his notes would never come out forced (probably originally to channel Pres). Stan worked with major names but didn’t get enough solo time with them and so he kept switching bands. Maggin along the way mentions many important things about the history of racism surrounding jazz musicians that all Americans should know. My favorite quote of the book; “There will always be exciting times for anyone who’s in a position to be experimenting and doing new things, new music, and so on. That’s the life blood of the whole thing” – Woody Herman A great roadmap for all of us who love playing jazz. Stan for a long time sounded like others before his sound became his own by adding to his take on Pres, what Maggin refers to as the “Jewish ache”. Bob Brookmeyer says that even though your instrument is metal and your mouthpiece metal, you are trying to get a human sound and once achieved, you are trying to say musically how you feel. Stan said he would let the mood of ballads tell him what to play but sometimes the melody itself was so beautiful he’d think why not just play the melody? Sometimes he’s say “it’s not the mode, it’s the mood”. Jobim says Brazilian music is beautiful because sadness is more beautiful than happiness for those with a soul. Jobim and Joao Gilberto didn’t want Astrid to sing as she would do on Stan’s soon to be hit record. Maybe Astrid found out they didn’t want her and got sad and sang better. ☺ The bulk of Stan’s money came from his performances not recordings because strangely most of his catalog didn’t sell much. Stan said it would take him four days to get his embouchure back after not playing. I’m a huge Stan Getz fan so I’m super-happy this book was written and the fact that it also had really musical info in there. The most boring part of the book was the chronic mistreatment of Monica Getz by her drug-abusing husband. The abuse is a dominant theme throughout the book but once you remove the fact that addicts hurt everyone around them and Getz was no different, you get back to Getz’s music itself: the sound, the choice of notes, the phrasing, dynamics and timing, and it’s all good…

[Nathan Nicolau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dropped at 120 pages.

For starters, Getz just really doesn't have an interesting life. Most of the biography is Getz going on the up and up, shooting heroin, and having run-ins with police. Rinse, repeat. The people he worked with were more interesting than him, which is made clear from how much Maggin goes on tangents about everyone in Getz's life.

Another big complaint: Not once does Maggin mention that Getz and Chet Baker loathed each other in the short times they collaborated. Maggin makes Getz's drug habit clear, but not his selfish personality. Rose-colored glasses? Maybe.

[Pete Poulos · Rating 1 out of 5]

According to one of Mr. Getz's Daughters this book should be burned. Flipping through a few pages it was reminiscent of Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon which is part Hearsay and Part National Enquirer. Many pages..lots of Bullshit. Maggin should be writing more on the level of Contents of cereal on the boxes, which is more interesting than this book.

[Roddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but slightly depressing read - certainly influences your Stan Getz listening experience thereafter.