Getz Live at the Shrine, 1954
The first concert recording Stan Getz ever made, captured in a Los Angeles club during his early career.
This is the first concert recording Stan Getz ever made, a live set captured in 1954 at The Shrine, a Los Angeles venue. Getz was still early in his career, and the record shows him stretching out in front of an audience rather than tidily working through studio takes. It is an important document for that reason: it lets a listener hear the saxophonist in a more open, unguarded setting than the Verve studio work he would become known for.
The band is a small, flexible group. Stan Getz plays tenor with the fluid, lyrical tone that defined his style, and Bob Brookmeyer's valve trombone adds a different color to the front line. The rhythm section of John Williams on piano, Bill Anthony on bass, and Art Mardigan on drums keeps things loose and swinging. The performances have the energy you expect from a club date, with more room to move than a studio session allows.
The album was originally released in 1955 on Norgran Records as a two-LP set and later reissued on CD by Verve. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings gives it four stars out of four, which places it among the stronger early documents of Getz's work. Its main value today is as a snapshot: if you want to hear where Getz was before his later fame, this is a good place to start.
Who's playing
Bill Anthonydouble bass
John Williamspiano
Stan Getztenor saxophone
Bob Brookmeyervalve trombone
Art Mardigandrums
