Bossa Nova Albums, The - Stan Getz

Advantages: Near perfect saxophony.
Disadvantages: Too smooth.

...The Very Best of Stan Getz. Sax Moods. The cost of this double CD varies, I actually got mine from a boot sale for £3, it can be bought on Amazon for less than a fiver. Stan Getz, to me, on tenor sax is like Kenny G is to soprano, Mr smooth. There is no doubt that this has been both his accolade and his downfall. Traditional jazz fans may well find him too smooth, yet his pedigree and grounding was in some of the more bebop style bands. His 'tone' when playing has been called 'the sound' as it is pretty near perfect, now personally I like something a little more 'off' perfect. This double CD is broadly (though not completely) split into two genres. The first CD is more traditional jazz tunes and ballads whilst the 2nd CD is dominated by Latin, Bossa Nova type tunes, not my favourite genre (CD 2). The thing I do like about... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: A great jazz collection
Disadvantages: Stan is the only soloist

...I don't know if this album received that much attention when it came out but I've been listening to it lately a lot. I'm a saxophone player, and Getz is not even usually one of my favorites. I always thought his sound was too lightweight or something. The only albums I liked were the early Bossa Nova ones, but not any more. He plays so soulfully on this album, it's like he's literally crying, wailing, and his sound is so beautiful and big and perfect intonation--all the more amazing since he had terminal cancer at the time of the recording. You would never know it. This is a very arranged album with lots of horns and synthesized instruments and percussion and lots of different styles and grooves, but don't let that discourage you because it's very intimate and Stan is the only soloist, blowing all the way through. Occasionally... Read review

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Advantages: Some cracking tracks by big names.
Disadvantages: Couple of tracks that do not belong.

...shows the range of music and some pretty famous names, great stuff. ~~~Song List~~~ Disc: 1 1. Unforgettable - Nat King Cole 2. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye - Ella Fitzgerald 3. We Have All the Time in the World - Louis Armstrong 4. The Look of Love - Diana Krall 5. My Baby Just Cares for Me - Nina Simone 6. Moondance - Van Morrison 7. I Just Want to Make Love to You - Etta James 8. Soul Bossa Nova - Quincy Jones 9. Organ Grinder's Swing - Jimmy Smith 10. Tequila - Wes Montgomery 11. Mas Que Nada - Sergio Mendes 12. Hit the Road Jack - Shirley Horn 13. Yeh Yeh - Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames 14. Cheek to Cheek - Stephane Grapelli 15. Night Train - Oscar Peterson 16. On the Sunny Side of the Street - Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins & Sonny Stitt 17. Stranger on the Shore - Acker Bilk 18. Acknowledgement (A... Read review

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