Stan Getz - Nobody Else But Me (Book) [Paperback] Review

Jazz Critic Dave Gelly has a jazzy and breezy prose style, not unlike the tenor saxophone style of the book's subject, Stan Getz. I zipped through this book, and it went down as easy as a dry martini after a hard day's work.

Getz's nickname was "The Sound" and the sound was lush, beautiful, lyrical, melodic, and swung like crazy. But Stan, "The Man" was a different story, and it is a paradox that such lovely music could come from someone so flawed. Heroin addiction at one point caused a desperate young Getz to attempt to rob a pharmacy. He later kicked heroin, but was an alcoholic wife beater. He was not the best parent. He was jealous of Chet Baker. He was an adulterous womanizer.

But then there was the music, Jack Teagarden, Stan Kenton, the Woody Herman Band, the Bossa Nova, the exciting career, the gorgeous sound . . .

Gelly tells it like it is, spinning a compelling narrative that doesn't shy away from the life behind the music, but still illuminates that music, putting it all in perspective, and making us feel the wonder of "The Sound" anew. It's all there in this book, Nobody Else But Me, shakin' like Gelly on a plate.

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Product Description:
The creator of the unforgettable "Girl from Ipanema" tenor sax tone, this son of Ukranian immigrants took his unique sound through five decades of swing, cool, bossa, and beyond. From Getz's teenage gigs with Dorsey, Goodman, and Stan Kenton, fame with Woody Herman, years as a masterful bandleader, and struggles with drugs and the law, this biography tells the bittersweet story of one of our most beloved jazz musicians. This is the first book to focus on Getz's musical legacy, exploring the lightness of touch, lyricism, and warm glow that marked his sound. It also gives insight into his skills as a consummate improviser, capable of playing with a musical, tonal, and emotional range matched by few other musicians.

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Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott LaFaro (North Texas Lives of Musician Series) [Hardcover] Review

Jade Visions is the first and only biography devoted to the too-brief life and meteoric career of jazz bassist Scott LaFaro. Known best as a member of pianist Bill Evans' dream trio, which included the still-vital drummer Paul Motian, LaFaro also performed across the entire spectrum of jazz in the '50s and early '60s, from the big bands of Benny Goodman and Stan Kenton, to romantic balladeer-trumpeter Chet Baker, to the free jazz adventures of Ornette Coleman and Gunther Schuller.

Little has been known about LaFaro's life off-stage until now. A private person, judged as aloof and even unlikeable by some who encountered him casually, he was already obsessed by music and the uncompromising pursuit of excellence by the time he reached high school. Jade Visions, written by his sister Helene LaFaro Fernandez, tells an engaging tale of their unconventional upbringing, along with their three younger sisters, by rather free-thinking parents in a large and affectionate Italian-American family.

LaFaro's short life was not dramatic compared to the well-chronicled meltdowns and often self-inflicted health problems of similarly gifted artists. He did not face racial discrimination, as did so many jazz stars of the era. He helped watch over his four sisters and mother after the premature death of his father. He sent playful postcards to his family from the road, and checked out his kid sister Helene's dates to make sure they measured up to his expectations. But on stage and in the practice room, he was, to sum up in a single word, intense.

Passages by the author describing their family life alternate with insights into LaFaro's prodigious musical gifts by Gene Lees, Eddie Gomez, Gary Peacock, Marc Johnson, Rufus Reid, Stanley Clarke, Herb Mickman, Jeff Campbell, Phil Palombi and dozens of others. The great classical soloist Gary Karr was also aware of LaFaro as he was launching his own fabled career, and relates how he was inspired to continue pushing the boundaries of what was considered possible on the double bass in part due to the example of LaFaro's innovations.

The book is written in an enjoyable, conversational style, and a number of never before published photos are included, as well as a complete discography, bibliography and archival magazine articles. Jade Visions is not only a snapshot of life as a working musician in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but also the intimate story of a single-minded young musician who transformed himself in seven short years from high school band student to DownBeat magazine rising star.

History has already passed judgment on his accomplishments and declared him a superstar for the ages. Christian McBride observes, "Scotty's playing was the bible for bass players...Jimmy Blanton the old testament, Scotty, the new." Almost a half century after his death, LaFaro's photo recently graced the cover of Bass Player magazine, along with a feature length essay on LaFaro's continuing relevance today by jazz historian and bassist John Goldsby. By the time you read this review, Jade Visions will be back on the presses for a second printing, less than six months after its release. Read it to the soundtrack of Pieces of Jade, a companion CD that includes rehearsal tape of Evans and LaFaro working out the changes to My Foolish Heart.

Jazz fans around the world owe Helene LaFaro Fernandez a huge debt of gratitude for sharing the personal story of her brother Scotty, whose artistry remains timeless.

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