Ballads and Bossas: The lost sessions

[GARY BLOND]

I am interested in finding out more about this recording by Verve 2003 I believe. It has become available at my local library. I can't find reference to it in my latest Penguin Guide. Can anyone offer some detail? Cheers. Gary. Australia

[Bev Getz]

Hi Gary! If my memory serves me right(!), "Bossas & Ballads" was recorded a couple of years before Stan passed. Produced by Herb Alpert and Stan. It wasn't released on A & M as that label was sold shortly after the recording. Quite a few years later, it was bought from Herb by Verve and released.

Here is a bit of info I took from Amazon:
Amazon.com
There has been no lack of previously unissued material by the late Stan Getz coming out on CD, but the opportunity to get a further taste of the great tenor saxophonist's exceptional final period is not to be passed on. Recorded two months before his death in 1989 (and two years after the brilliant club dates documented on Anniversary and Serenity), Bossas and Ballads finds him in top form, continuing his memorable association with pianist Kenny Barron. Produced for A&M by Herb Alpert, but shelved in favor of the synthesizered Apasionado, this is vintage Getz: cool and relaxed but possessed of a sneaky explosive power. The man's lyricism could be devastating, and knowing he would be soon gone adds to the potency of his expression on songs such as "Sunshower" (one of five tunes by Barron), Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes" and Sam Rivers' "Beatrice." A quarter century after spearheading the bossa nova movement in America, he brings a bit less lilt to the form, but more body, never resting on his inventions. --Lloyd Sachs

[GARY BLOND]

Bev Getz said:

Hi Gary! If my memory serves me right(!), "Bossas & Ballads" was recorded a couple of years before Stan passed. Produced by Herb Alpert and Stan. It wasn't released on A & M as that label was sold shortly after the recording. Quite a few years later, it was bought from Herb by Verve and released.

Here is a bit of info I took from Amazon:
Amazon.com
There has been no lack of previously unissued material by the late Stan Getz coming out on CD, but the opportunity to get a further taste of the great tenor saxophonist's exceptional final period is not to be passed on. Recorded two months before his death in 1989 (and two years after the brilliant club dates documented on Anniversary and Serenity), Bossas and Ballads finds him in top form, continuing his memorable association with pianist Kenny Barron. Produced for A&M by Herb Alpert, but shelved in favor of the synthesizered Apasionado, this is vintage Getz: cool and relaxed but possessed of a sneaky explosive power. The man's lyricism could be devastating, and knowing he would be soon gone adds to the potency of his expression on songs such as "Sunshower" (one of five tunes by Barron), Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes" and Sam Rivers' "Beatrice." A quarter century after spearheading the bossa nova movement in America, he brings a bit less lilt to the form, but more body, never resting on his inventions. --Lloyd Sachs

[GARY BLOND]

Thanks Bev for the detail. I have since obtained the recording ( I am looking at the cover as I type! ) and it is superb! Also thank you for making me part of this network - what a great idea. Stan's music gave and still gives such joy to so many people. whenever I strike a person who has an 'aversion' to jazz, I usually suggest they try listening to the sax of Stan and see if they feel the same afterwards. Works most times! Regards. Gary