Stan Getz

Stanley Getz, better known as Stan Getz (February 2, 1927 - June 6, 1991) was an American jazz musician. He is considered one of the greatest tenor saxophone players of all time, and was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical, and instantly recognizable tone as displayed in his version of the song "The Girl from Ipanema". Getz's prime influence was the wispy, mellow tone of Lester Young, yet Getz continued to develop his approach to playing throughout his life. He said of himself in 1986: "I never consciously tried to conceive of what my sound should be..."

Quotations

• "Flawless technique, perfect time, strong melodic sense and more than enough harmonic expertise, fabulous memory, and great ears. Add a superb sense of dynamics, pacing, and format. Top this off with a sound of pure gold and you have Stan Getz". - pianist Lou Levy on Stan Getz
• "Let's face it. We (tenor saxophonists) would all play like him, if we could." -John Coltrane on Stan Getz