Stan Getz - The Smoothest Operator

One of the all-time great tenor saxophonists, Stan Getz had one of the most beautiful tones ever heard. Initially inspired by the great Lester Young, he grew to be a major influence himself with a unique sound that appealed to a wide audience and eventually saw him in the international pop charts in the '60s with hits such as Desafinado and The Girl From Ipanema. Probably all of the recordings on this 98-track 4CD set of his early years have been reissued before but JSP have taken the completist approach - entire sessions in chronological order, all freshly remastered - to fully illustrate the development of a major name in jazz history. At the opening of disc one a young man of 19 makes an impressive debut in his own right (having already been playing in big bands since he was 16). By the end of end of disc four he is an established and consummate artist within the top flight coterie of American jazz stylists.