Quiet Girl

This five-LP box set (which has been reissued on CD) contains nearly all of Stan Getz's classic bossa nova sessions, five wonderful yet diverse LPs (Jazz Samba, Big Band Bossa Nova, Jazz Samba Encore, Stan Getz/Laurindo Almedia, and Getz/Gilberto). The cool-toned tenor is heard on his groundbreaking collaboration with guitarist Charlie Byrd (which resulted in the best-selling "Desafinado"), is showcased with a big band arranged by Gary McFarland (introducing "No More Blues" and "One Note Samba"), stars in recordings with guitarists Laurindo Almeida and Luiz Bonfa, and is heard at the famous meeting with composer/pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim, guitarist João Gilberto, and singer Astrud Gilberto, which resulted in the major hit "The Girl From Ipanema." This essential set finishes off with three previously unissued performances from a 1964 Carnegie Hall Concert, concluding with a remake of "The Girl From Ipanema." These recordings stand as proof that it is possible for good music to sell.

The Stan Getz volume in Verve's Quiet Now series is a stellar collection of ballads from the '50s and '60s when Getz and his bands led jazz polls continually. His bossa material, which is his best known, is represented here by three cuts – and no, "Girl from Ipanema" is not one of them – including "Corcovado." That said, it's his interpretations of standards such as "Little Girl Blue," "It Never Entered My Mind," "Sweet Rain," and "Serenade in Blue" that the great tenorman's true lyrical gift comes into play.