# In 1956, tax problems compelled Stan Getz to move to Denmark: Photos, Videos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2019/06/15/in-1956-tax-problems-compelled-stan-getz-to-move-to-denmark-photos-videos/
- Published: 2019-06-15T17:12:07+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**He wasn’t alone when it came to sizable tax bills and a European escape. **

After paying their sidemen immediately after gigs, many jazz leaders didn’t or couldn’t
set aside an appropriate portion for the IRS. Other musicians spent all of their
gross pay to cover drugs, alcohol, cars, failed marriages and other expenses, leaving
them unable to pay the tax bill. Most musicians didn’t think about financial planning
or accountants. [Photo of Stan Getz above by Bob Parent, courtesy of Verve]

[⌊S-l1600-1⌉⌊S-l1600-1⌉[
 Depending on the source, Getz either dodged the tax bill
entirely by living in Denmark or paid the IRS back incrementally by mail from Copenhagen.
Whichever story is accurate, Getz returned to the U.S. on January 19, 1961. But 
the only way he could have avoided arrest is if he had paid off the debt or worked
out an IRS payback deal in advance of his return.

[⌊Stan2⌉⌊Stan2⌉[
 Part of Getz’s motivation to return to the States was the September
1960 death of bassist Oscar Pettiford, who also lived in Copenhagen. According to
Donald Maggin’s Getz biography, Stan Getz: A Life in Jazz, the tenor saxophonist
took Pettiford’s passing hard: “Pettiford was the only musical intelligence with
whom Stan could consistently explore the American innovations, and his feelings 
of artistic isolation increased dramatically when Pettiford was taken away from 
him.” [Photo above, from left, of Oscar Pettiford, Joe Harris and Stan Getz in Copenhagen
in 1959]

[⌊Screen Shot 2019-06-13 at 8.24.54 PM⌉⌊Screen Shot 2019-06-13 at 8.24.54 PM⌉[
 Once back
in New York, Getz was in for a jolt. New York club audiences that came to see him
were thin. With the rise of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and other saxophonists
who had a freer, more aggressive attack, Getz’s smooth, high-register approach influenced
by Lester Young seemed dated. Fortunately for Getz, he had a friend in Verve producer
Creed Taylor, who loved his sound since his college days at Duke University. Creed
also may have worked out a deal with the IRS or advanced Getz the money owed when
the saxophonist signed with Verve.

[⌊Screen Shot 2019-06-13 at 8.29.04 PM⌉⌊Screen Shot 2019-06-13 at 8.29.04 PM⌉[
 Throughout
1961, Getz, with Creed’s guidance, worked methodically to rebuild his credibility
and reputation in New York. In July, Creed had him record _Focus,_ a more abstract
album than Getz was used to. Getz then recorded _Stan Getz/Bob Brookmeyer _in September.
In November, Getz was taped live at Birdland with pianist Steve Kuhn, bassist Jimmy
Garrison and drummer Roy Haynes. The result was released on a Fresh Sound recording
in 2013.

[⌊23551645675_dc5f752f13_b⌉⌊23551645675_dc5f752f13_b⌉[
 Now, a second tape from 
November 1961 has been found and released by producers Zev Feldman, Richard Seidel
and Ken Drucker on Universal Music’s Verve label. This one was recorded at Art D’Lugoff’s
Village Gate on November 26, with bassist John Neves replacing Garrison. The new
album sounds fantastic and is Getz’s most interesting recording of 1961. Here’s 
why:

Kuhn’s piano is astonishing. His playing was refreshingly distinct and his block
chords and Bud Powell-influenced runs lean forward with a futurist feel.

The same is true for Roy Haynes, whos drumming in 1961 had already crossed into 
the 1960s.

Though Getz is still playing like Getz, you can hear him trying out new approaches
on the saxophone in an effort to revive his popularity and re-establish his name
at clubs.

The Village Gate gig came just three months before Getz and Charlie Byrd’s _Jazz
Samba,_ an album that would lead to a string of revolutionary bossa nova albums 
by Getz and produce several major pop hits such as _Desafinado_and _The Girl From
Ipanema_.

[⌊Screen Shot 2019-06-13 at 8.36.04 PM⌉⌊Screen Shot 2019-06-13 at 8.36.04 PM⌉[
 All of which
fills in a blank. As I wrote in my liner notes to the 50th anniversary of _Getz/
Gilberto_ in 2014, Getz never cared much for his bossa nova recordings, despite 
the fame and fortune it bestowed on him. For one, he felt bossa nova was pop and
dreaded being viewed by peers and fans as a sell-out. For another, Getz had his 
eye on returning to the top of the jazz heap and to rival Coltrane. Getz was intensely
competitive. This new album provides a powerful glimpse at Getz evolving at a critical
and uncertain moment in his career, just before his Brazilian Faustian bargain.

To read my two-part interview in 2008 with Art D’Lugoff, owner of the Village Gate.

_Yesterday’s Gardenias_. Dig the elegance of Getz and the rest of his group not 
to mention the killer intro…

![61294239_220048702308712_2102678147463557319_n](https://marcmyers.typepad.com/.
a/6a00e008dca1f088340240a48ebb9d200d-500wi)

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