It’s with a bit of embarrassment that I admit that in the past, I have never really been a big fan of Stan Getz. Imaqdx Driver Labview there. I remember hearing his name when I was younger and checking out some of his recordings but what can I say? Manual De Instrucción De Orden Cerrado De Infanteria Sedena 1999. Those were my Michael Brecker and Bob Berg years. I couldn’t get enough of those guys. Their tones sounded energetic, raw, focused and in your face. Stan Getz sounded mellow, mature and laid back to me. I just never got into him back then.

I remember feeling the same way about Joe Lovano, Harry Allen, Warne Marsh and Rich Perry when I first heard them. It was just a different tone than what I preferred back then. As we mature and grow as musicians, our ears and minds can open up to players in a fresh way sometimes. I remember continuing to check out Stan Getz as well as the other players I listed above through the years and starting to appreciate their greatness more and more. What I once didn’t like about their sounds, was what was now attracting me to their playing. They were different, unique, one of a kind and special. In the last decade, I started listening to more Stan Getz and now realize what I was missing out on all those years.

When I heard that Hal Leonard was releasing a Stan Getz Omnibook I had to check it out. I’ve now spent about a month with it and after checking out these recordings and solos I have to say “Wow! Stan Getz was unbelievable!” A couple days ago, I went through the whole book from cover to cover. Most of the recordings can be found on Youtube these days which is pretty cool. I spent about four hours just listening to every recording and following along with the transcriptions and I can’t tell you how many times I just felt awe and shock by what I just heard and saw in the transcriptions. The Stan Getz Omnibook Here is what I found amazing about Stan Getz while going through this process: His commitment to creativity and the melodic line. What does that mean?

Well, as I went through the 54 transcriptions, I was amazed by the multitude of creative melodic ideas within them. When you go through a book of transcriptions by one artist, you usually will see many repeated concepts.

Melodic ideas being used a number of times or even the same lines being used over the same chords a number of times. Although I did see a few instances of this, it was much less than I usually see with an artist. What I did see, was a commitment to melodic ideas. I saw this over and over again in every solo. For example, most players will play over a Db7 chord by pulling from their resource of ideas that they have indexed in their brain and string these ideas together so they sound connected or related.

Rather than doing this, I get the sense that Stan Getz is thinking of a melodic idea and playing that idea through the changes. He’s molding it and changing it to work and fit the harmonic context. It’s not about regurgitating ideas he has in his head but coming up with something new and fresh. In my opinion, this is much harder than just playing different variation of what you already know. At times, you hear him stumble a little bit as he tries an idea over the changes but then he regains his balance again and it’s like watching a master walking on the tightrope.

You will find 82 posts of transcriptions here at the SaxShed! Better Times sax solo only; Richard Elliot. Stan Getz – Three Little Words. Playing the Stan Getz Cafe Montmartre track two, “I thought about you”, at loud level – like sitting 3rd row, the sax solos may become compressed as we approach a sound level exceeding the capability of the midrange driver. Want to know more? Click to read full article. Prices and kit versions: Click to download PDF file.