Cafe Montmartre

Stan Getz | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 4, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Umvd Labels
• ASIN: B00005V53X
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,307 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stan at his best, March 4, 2003

By 

B. Ballard "benballard" (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cafe Montmartre (Audio CD)

Nothing new here, just some of the best live jazz of the 80's and 90's. All of these tracks look like they are taken from the three (excellent) previously released albums Stan recorded live at Cafe Montmartre in Copenhagen with Kenny Barron, 'Anniversary', 'Serenity', and 'People Time'. This is not "80's Jazz", or even "90's Jazz". This is just classic jazz. Stan plays much better here than in any of his 60's studio albums, and Kenny Barron proves why he is probably the best accompanist ever.

These recordings, played on a good stereo, will really transport you to the Cafe Montmartre. (I heard from a Danish friend a few years ago that the cafe has sadly closed). You can hear the occassional clinking of dishes, and the applause is warm and close. You'll be clapping too.

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars deep emotional truth, March 28, 2003

By 

rash67 (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Cafe Montmartre (Audio CD)

Many of the current flock of compilations of Stan Getz come from earlier music, especially from the 1960's. This group is taken from his last recordings, late 80's-90's, including, arguably, his finest album "Anniversary", and "Serenity" recorded on his sixtieth birthday, at the apex of his abilities, and "People Time" recorded months before his death, some four years after. All were recorded live at the "Cafe Montmartre", one of his favorite venues from his ex-patriot days.

The music is all ballads: breathtakingly beautiful, heartfelt and poignant, deeply expressive, romantic, and sad. Ballads, of course, were his forte. The magnificent "Sound" is still there, as always, but the "Cool", aloof style of his earlier years has been replaced by deep emotional truth. While up tempo songs may are technically difficult, ballads expose the depth of the soul.

While this is a great album and a wonderful introduction to his work, if you like the music here, do buy the original albums listed above. In concert, Stan always offset the ballads with upbeat songs, which made them stand out in relief. I feel they are more meaningful when presented this way.

I should add that Jazz's greatest trumpeter, Miles Davis, everything he recorded is currently available. Sadly for Stan, the Jazz's greatest sax man, the original albums are vanishing to be replaced by a series of overlaping "best of's".

Get the originals while you can. He is the best.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Late Getz, January 14, 2004

By 

FePe (Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cafe Montmartre (Audio CD)

What is characterized by Getz in his last years is his clear expression, his ability to play a story instead of just an atmosphere.

Cafe Montmartre is the name of an old Danish jazz cafe where these songs were recorded. All of them are ballads collected from Getz' albums People Time, Anniversary, and Serenity. Anniversary and Serenity were recorded in 1987 with a band consisting of pianist Kenny Barron, bass player Rufus Reid, and drummer Victor Lewis. People Time is the music from a series of concerts in 1991, not long before Getz' death. The music is full of intimacy, strong expression, and lovely notes. Getz surely lives up to what he himself said: "I never played a note I didn't feel intimately, and I'd like that to be my epitaph."

If you listen to this album more than once, and you'll want to when you hear it the first time, you'll never forget what he tells you. It sure doesn't hurt that the other musicians does a really good job too.