Stan Getz: Stella by Starlight
Musicians:
Stan Getz (tenor sax), Jimmy Raney (guitar),
Duke Jordan (piano), Bill Crow (bass), Frank Isola (drums)
.Composed by Victor Young and Ned Washington
.Recorded: New York, December 12, 1952
Rating: 85/100 (learn more)
This is typically the kind of piece that people will classify as "West Coast jazz," although it was recorded in New York by a native of Philadelphia. True, Getz's tenor delivery is thoroughly relaxed, and the sound of the quintet is basically cool. But what I find most remarkable in the Getz of the early '50s is the way he can, with apparently no effort, carve a little gem of less than three minutes. Of course some will merely use it as background music. But others will listen again and again, endlessly raving at, for example, the art with which Stan casually inserts a quotation from Bizet's Carmen at the end of his solo.
Reviewer: Thierry Quénum
Tags: 1950s · cool jazz · stella by starlight · tenor sax
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