Customer Reviews

Getz Au Go Go

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A point I haven't seen mention online is that this is a studio recording with overdubbed applause. Producer Phil Schapp

explained this in a commentary published in 1989 in the Bossa Nova Years collection, below:

"I did not find much original tape for Getz Au Go Go, but I did unravel a mystery. Clearly something was up when Verve

decided to follow up the triumph of 'The Girl from Ipanema' with a second recording of Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto.

Verve recorded her with Stan at the Cafe Au Go Go. They recorded her with Stan at the legendary Carnegie Hall Bossa

Nova Concert. *And* they recorded the two using the very same songs in the studio! The "post-production" decision

was to use the studio material with phony applause, claiming it came from the live Au Go Go date...NOT SO. This set all

but eliminates this gaffe.

Stan Getz appeareed with his new group at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village during May 1964. The gig ran from

May1-31, 1964. The recording was done on May 22, '64 *not* June '64 which has long been listed. AStrud Gilberto

appeared with this unit for at least two weeks....On October 6, 1964--and perhaps on other dates as well--Astrud Gildberto

recorded with Stan Getz in the Studio, remaking the songs she had sung with Getz at the Au Go Go and would sing three

days later with Getz at Carnegie Hall. The studio material and the Carnegie Hall recording are what have survived"

--Phil Schaap, 'Technical and Discographical Comments,' published in booklet of complilation The Girl from Ipanema:

The Bossa Nova Years.

To further confuse the issue, elsewhere in the booklet of the same collection is this note about Getz Au Go Go:

"Live material recorded May 22, 1964 in New York. Astrud Gilberto's vocals recorded at later dates at Rudy Van Gelder's

(see Phil Schapp's commentary)." [I suppose the "live material" in question is handclapping, and Getz and the band

were recorded alongside Astrud at the later dates at Rudy Van Gelder's--NH]

And here are the original (and obviously misleading) liner notes, taken from the Verve Website:

It was one of those rare nights of absolute communication - the New York City opening of the New Stan Getz Quartet.

Stan had chosen the Cafe Au Go Go for this occasion because of its fine acoustics and its intimacy. Atmosphere was

paramount to the first New York presentation of the New Stan Getz Quartet and Astrud Gilberto because of the soft, easy

quality of their music. Astrud had already won acclaim for her work with Getz in the album Getz/Gilberto (V/V 6-8548),

which also stars Astrud's husband Joao Gilberto as well, and this threesome's single from the album The Girl From

Ipanema was rapidly rising on the best-selling charts.

This, is the stunning New Stan Getz Quartet with Astrud Gilberto at Cafe Au Go Go. Reflected here are the excitement,

warmth and communication of that memorable engagement.

-Gene Lees, from the liner notes of Getz Au Go Go

An online Getz discography ... also muddles history by claiming that the Oct.

6 session, which Schapp reports to be a studio session at Rudy Van Gelder's, was a recorded at a return visit to the Au Go

Go:

Stan Getz Quintet
Stan Getz (ts) Gary Burton (vib) Kenny Burrell (g) Gene Cherico (b) Helico Milton (d) Astrud Gilberto (vo)
``Cafe au Go Go'', Greenwich Village, NYC, October 6, 1964
It Might as Well Be Spring Verve V6 8600
The Telephone Song -
* Getz au Go Go (Verve V6 8600)

BTW, the Nobody Else but Me album (same band, minus Astrud) was recorded March 4, two months before the Au Go

Go engagement began (if the record is correct).

NH

Although Astrud Gilberto has drawn most of the attention given this album over the years, what makes it a classic is the interaction of the then young Gary Burton with Getz and bassist Gene Cherico. They do the best version EVER of "Here's that Rainey Day" and one of the best of "Summer Time." The bossa novas and Gilberto are charming and wonderful, but it is their lyric, swinging treatment of the standards that make this one of the best jazz albums of all time, perhaps to be ranked with Miles Davis' "Blue" and Bill Evans "Conversations with Myself."

The real shame of this particular edition of the Getz quartet is that it was so underrecorded. A reviewer below blames Norv (sic) Granz, Verve's owner. Sorry, buddy, but Norman Granz hadn't owned Verve since 1961, so he never saw any of the profit from the Getz "bossa nova" albums -- can't blame him. True, Getz did eventually tire of the bossa hoopla -- but then again, so did Paul Desmond, who was one of it's biggest exponents. Just like everything else that becomes popular, consumerism kills it, then proceeds to beat it in the ground. At any rate, this is a quality band. Gary Burton on vibes gives the band a different texture, and Astrud's voice fits in perfectly with the cool (gasp!) sound of this group. This quartet was also documented on the "Nobody Else But Me" album and the "Getz/Gilberto #2" cd, recorded live at Carnegie Hall. Both are worth picking up. Incidentally, there is a rare lp on the CanAm label of a recording of this quartet in concert in Canada. If you're a completist, look for that, too.

this is one of the best albums ever made in Jazzmusic.

it`s a gotta have, if your a serious jazzlover.

with astrud gilberto getz made timeles music.

this is his best with her.

and it`s a classic jazz album

The Astrud Gilberto Album has a better selection of songs.

Getz was surely more inspired on Getz/Gilberto and Jazz Samba.

Nevertheless, this is relaxing, enjoyable cool jazz. Astrud sings on five of these tunes. She sings very well, with the classic sound we love so well. I hate the English lyrics to One Note Samba, but that's not her fault. Anyone who knows these artists probably won't be awed, nor with they be disappointed by these performances. A solid 3½ to 4 stars.

I have no idea where the songs were recorded. Some of them are obviously studio recordings, because the acoustics are pretty dead -- with a little artificial reverb added. Also, the fact that there is no applause after the instrumental solos is a dead giveaway. Why would they paste applause recorded on a club date at the end of these studio recordings to try to fool the listener into thinking they were live tracks? I haven't a clue.

A few of the tracks are clearly live performances recorded in a small club. The sound quality is not quite up to the standard of the studio-recorded songs, but audience reactions and the acoustics of a jazz club are evident.

This is a pleasant album to add a little variety to your collection of Stan Getz or Astrud Gilberto. It is a document from an era when bossa nova burst onto the American scene, and jazz songs could actually get airtime on top 40 radio and turn into big hit records.

This is a storied recording, reported to have been a studio album with audience sounds overdubbed...it doesn't sound that way,feels like a live recording. That being said, I don't care if it was taped in a phone booth, it's a great album. Getz sounds great and Gary Burton is on hand with his vibes and Astrud Gilberto is her mesmeric self. I love, "The Telephone Song" catchy and the band seems to be having fun and when Astrud laugh at the end it charms me so. I moved to New York in the late 60's and whenever I walked by The Cafe Au Go Go, I though of this album and it would start me humming "Summertime".

I have searched for this recording for a long time. It was one of the first jazz albums I purchased and I have loved it ever since. Now I suppose I could discuss the Getz "sound," Burton's vibes, Astrud's voice, the ambiance of the live recording and on and on and on. However, if you are already a jazz aficionado you do not need to hear this from me. Instead I will says this: If you are not sure if you love jazz and simply want some really nice generally mellow romance music, light your candles, pour your wine, dim the lights, put on this recording and. . . .

What's not to like? Stan Getz, Astrud, Gary Burton, all beautifully remastered (2007). Perhaps the rumors around a studio recording are understandable since in fact the new notes on the CD indicate that tracks 1,2,3 and 8 were actually recorded at Carnegie Hall! No wonder it's more difficult to hear the audience and doesn't sound like a club. Anyway, if you have any doubts, audition the links above and see for yourself. A great way to spend some mellow time enjoying people at the height of their powers!

This ellegantly swinging (if I'm not mistaken, balancao is the Portugese word for swing)bossa nova-cool jazz album may or may not have been recorded in a studio instead of the club it is named after, but it is one my favorite jazz albums, far superior to much more famous (and better selling) "Getz/Gilberto" album.

Even if this is an attempt to cash in on the earlier success of Stan - Joao - Astrud blending of jazz and Brazilian music, this time it seems more relaxed and creative if you ask me; Gary Burton is certainly helpful in this respect.

All the players are great and Astrud is at her ellegant best, so less than 5 stars would be injustice (in my humble opinion).

If you liked Getz/Gilberto, you will like this. Watch out though, the total playing time is less then 40 minutes. It's almost worth it, though, to hear Stan Getz introduce Astrud and Joao Gilberto. I never could have figured out how to pronounce their names!