[.ca] Steamer (Restored/Rm)

Chronique amazon.fr:
L'une des grandes sessions californiennes de Stan Getz au cours des années cinquante. Chef de file du jazz cool, le saxophoniste ne pouvait que se rapprocher de ce jazz de l'Ouest, si proche de sa musique, de ces jazzmen qui, comme lui, revendiquent l'influence de Lester Young. De Lester, Getz a surtout retenu une approche mélodique de l'improvisation. Il a bien sûr assimilé le langage harmonique de Charlie Parker, mais ses phrases, construites avec logique et rigueur, recherchent avant tout l'émotion. C'est bien un musicien tourné vers le lyrisme qui s'exprime dans ces plages, la plus célèbre de The Steamer restant "Blues For Mary Jane", dédiée à Mary Jane Outwater, la secrétaire de Norman Granz. Lou Levy, le pianiste du trio qui l'accompagne, a joué avec Getz dans l'orchestre de Woody Herman. Son jeu orchestral, ancré dans le bop mais largement ouvert au swing, convient bien au saxophoniste qui bénéficie avec Leroy Vinnegar à la basse et Shelly Manne à la batterie, d'une souple et confortable assise rythmique. --Pierre de Chocqueuse

From Amazon.co.uk:
Recorded in Hollywood in 1956, this is one of the great milestone albums of Getz's career. Before it came the pale, watercolour ballads of his early years, still to come were such masterpieces as "Focus and "Getz/Gilberto" but The Steamer catches him at a brief moment of consolidation. On numbers like "How About You?" and "Too Close For Comfort", he stretches out into that easy lope which always brought out the best of his up-tempo playing--long, looping phrases, phenomenal dexterity and an apparently endless fund of ideas. In the ballads, his shy, buttoned-down lyricism never sounded more affecting. The accompanying rhythm section consists of three of Hollywood's finest--pianist Lou Levy, drummer Stan Levey and Leroy Vinnegar on bass. This release, in the Verve Master Edition series, includes alternate takes and even a few breakdowns and false starts. Apart from revealing that even great artists can make mistakes, these provide a fascinating insight into Getz's s recording methods. --Dave Gelly

This Steamer smells of success:
This 'Steamer' smells like roses! The musical layers pile on slowly. It keeps coming back to 'How about you'. As the mood builds, you can feel the internal pressure build until the final explosion. This reminds me a little of 'Turtle Head' in 'Sticking Out'. It's theme is a series of runs up and down the emotional gamut. You can't go wrong with this one! It's a heap of fun. Nothing corny here!

Steamin' "Steamer":
Along with the companion "Award Winner," Stan Getz's "The Steamer" is a classic look at the great tenor saxophonist of the cool school in the years before the Bossa Nova thang. Essential.

Stanley the Steamer swings through:
Verve has pulled another gem from the vaults! Stan Getz was given the name "Stanley the Steamer" by Oscar Peterson because his music "cooked" or "steamed". Mostly upbeat swing tempos, this cd is a lot like "West Coast Jazz". Good, solid performance, Stan and the guys stretch out a bit longer these more complex arrangements than he usually recorded during this period. Happy and upbeat, warm and sunny. Not many ballads. 20-bit remastering sounds accurate to the original disc.

• Blues for Mary Jane
• There Will Never Be Another You
• You're Blasé
• Too Close for Comfort
• Like Someone in Love
• How About You?
• How About You? \oComplete Alternative Take\c
• There Will Never Be Another You \oIncomplete and Breakdown Takes\c
• You're Blasé \oFalse Start\c
• Like Someone in Love \oIncomplete Take\c
• How About You? \oFalse Starts and Breakdown Take\c