Stan Getz – Dynasty (Verve, 1971)

Stan Getz (ts); René Thomas (g); Eddy Louiss (org); Bernard Lubat (d)

March 15 - 17, 1971

With the benefit of hindsight, it now seems like Stan Getz experienced an artistic renaissance during the 1970s.  If we listen to the music that he made during the decade -- both contemporary releases and more recent archival finds -- it's clear that he produced a series of exceptional recordings, both live and in the studio.  Chief among them:

• Change of Scenes - with the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band (Verve, 1971)
• Communications '72 - with Michel Legrand [and the Swingle Singers and organist Eddy Louiss, uncredited] (Verve, 1972)
• Captain Marvel (Columbia, 1974)
• The Master (Columbia, 1982; recorded 1975)
• My Foolish Heart: Live at the Left Bank (Label M, 2000, recorded 1975)
• Moments in Time (Resonance, 2016, recorded 1976)
• The Peacocks - with Jimmy Rowles (Columbia, 1977)
• Live at Montmartre (SteepleChase, 1977); aka Stan Getz Gold "...Happy 50th Stan" (Inner City, 1978)

As good as these are, I don't think any of them surpass Dynasty, the 2-LP set that kicked-off Getz's 70s-era purple patch. 

Getz recorded Dynasty at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London with three European musicians whom he'd met in Paris.   Without a doubt, the most important of these was French organist Eddy Louiss.  His prowess on the instrument lends the music a very distinctive sound.  (Did Getz ever record with another organist, either before or after?  I don't think he did, but I'm not certain.)  In addition, Louiss composed (or co-composed) five of the nine tracks that appeared on the original double-vinyl release.  The group also re-visits Louiss' composition "My Kind of Sabi," the title track of the organist's MPS LP discussed earlier in this survey.

Of course, Stan Getz is the one who makes this music extra-special.  Has any other saxophonist used dynamics for such expressive ends?  His sound will be as quiet as a whisper and then it will build and build and build -- seemingly without effort -- to a leonine roar.  And then just as suddenly his sound will recede to a soft caress.  Getz's mastery of dynamics must be one of the reasons (among many) that his music can captivate listeners so thoroughly -- even when his improvisations don't stray far from the melody.