Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto
Live At The Berlin Jazz Festival 1966
33rpm Lacquer-cuts: Kevin Gray
200g Double Ultimate Record®
Limited Edition: 4000 copies
Box and Tip-on Gatefold printed in Italy
Pressed by Simon Garcia, Marciac, France
When the concert started that 4 November 1966 at the famous Berliner Jazztage, four musicians took the stage.
Close-knit to the point of telepathy, they were about to give one of their last concerts.
The mythical partnership of Stan Getz on saxophone and Gary Burton on the vibraphone was coming to an end, but were they even aware that this was one of their last acts?
Accompanying them was an exceptional rhythm section with Chuck Israels on bass and the great Roy Haynes on drums.
With the first notes of “On Green Dolphin Street” the audience was won over by the rapport of empathy within the quartet.
The programme was beautifully compiled to alternate flamboyant standards conducive to the most exuberant solos (“The Blues Walk”), heady ballads where Getz demonstrated his splendid sound and lyrical singing (“The Shadow of Your Smile” and “Once Upon a Summertime”), and compositions by Gary Burton where the vibraphonist displayed his subtle harmonic universe (“The Singing Song” and “Edelweiss”).
Suddenly, a high-spirited version of “O Grande Amor”, the standard by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, sounded out to prefigure the distinctly bossa nova vibe of the second part of the concert: Astrud Gilberto was to take the stage.
With the opening bars of “Samba de Uma Nota Só” the flavours of Brazil were palpable. Gilberto’s voice, fragile yet mischievous against the background of the iridescent vibraphone and wrapped within the airy countermelody of the saxophone, recreated all the freshness and innocence of the legendary recording of 1964.
As if they were performing together for the first time, Gilberto and Getz played a subtle game of seduction to create music that was sensual, light and melancholic.
The colourful sequence of bossa nova standards – “Você e Eu” by Gilberto Gil, “Corcovado” and “The Girl from Ipanema” by Jobim – intermingled with numbers that were jazzier in both form and spirit – “Jive Hoot” by Bob Brookmeyer, “The Shadow of Your Smile” and “It Might as Well Be Spring” – was simply irresistible.
With the final notes of “Jive Hoot”, Stan Getz smiled and bid farewell to the audience with a simple “Auf Wiedersehen”. The recording of this dream-like performance lay untouched for nearly sixty years, until we unearthed the original tapes in the archives of Berlin Radio.
This album is the very first edition of a memorable live concert, entirely restored using Phoenix Mastering®.
Muscians:
Stan Getz, tenor saxophone
Gary Burton, vibraphone
Chuck Israels, bass
Roy Haynes, drums
Astrud Gilberto, vocals
Track List: Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto
RECORD 1
1. On Green Dolphin Street
2. The Singing song
3. The Shadow of Your Smile
4. O Grande Amor
5. Blues Walk
6. Once upon a Summertime
7. Medley: Desafinado/Chega De Saudade
RECORD 2
1. Edelweiss
2. Samba De Uma Nota Só
3. The Shadow of Your Smile
4. Você E Eu (Eu E Voce)
5. Corcovado
6. The Telephone Song
7. It Might as Well Be Spring
8. The Girl from Ipanema
