Stan Getz - Sweet Rain
Saxophone – Stan Getz [click here to see more products featuring Stan Getz]
Bass – Ron Carter [click here to see more products featuring Ron Carter]
Piano – Chick Corea [click here to see more products featuring Chick Corea]
Drums – Grady Tate
Written by Chick Corea (A1), Antônio Carlos Jobim (A2), Michael Gibbs (A3), Dizzy Gillespie (B1)
1 LP, gatefold old-style tip-on jackets by Stoughton Printing
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Quality Record Pressings
Label : Verve - Acoustic Sounds Series
Original Label : Verve
Recorded on March 21 and 30, 1967 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, Val Valentin
Original session produced by Creed Taylor
Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound
Reissue supervised by Chad Kassem
Photography by Tom Zimmermann
Sleeve Notes by Johnny Magnus
Originally released in July 1967
Reissued in August 2024
Tracks:
Side A:
1. Litha
2. O Grande Amor
3. Sweet Rain
Side B:
1. Con Alma
Reviews :
« One of Stan Getz's all-time greatest albums, Sweet Rain was his first major artistic coup after he closed the book on his bossa nova period, featuring an adventurous young group that pushed him to new heights in his solo statements. Pianist Chick Corea, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Grady Tate were all schooled in '60s concepts of rhythm-section freedom, and their continually stimulating interplay helps open things up for Getz to embark on some long, soulful explorations (four of the five tracks are over seven minutes). The neat trick of Sweet Rain is that the advanced rhythm section work remains balanced with Getz's customary loveliness and lyricism. Indeed, Getz plays with a searching, aching passion throughout the date, which undoubtedly helped Mike Gibbs' title track become a standard after Getz's tender treatment here. Technical perfectionists will hear a few squeaks on the LP's second half (Getz's drug problems were reputedly affecting his articulation somewhat), but Getz was such a master of mood, tone, and pacing that his ideas and emotions are communicated far too clearly to nit-pick. Corea's spare, understated work leaves plenty of room for Getz's lines and the busily shifting rhythms of the bass and drums, heard to best effect in Corea's challenging opener "Litha." Aside from that and the title track, the repertoire features another Corea original ("Windows"), the typically lovely Jobim tune "O Grande Amor," and Dizzy Gillespie's Latin-flavored "Con Alma." The quartet's level of musicianship remains high on every selection, and the marvelously consistent atmosphere the album evokes places it among Getz's very best. A surefire classic. » AllMusic Review by Steve Huey
When considering the highlights of Stan Getz’s incomparable career, which include such landmark moments as his collaborations with Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Charlie Byrd, and Lionel Hampton, the genius proto-fusion of Captain Marvel, the third-stream experimentation of Focus, and of course the bossa nova blockbuster Getz/Gilberto, the saxophonist’s superlative 1967 quartet recording Sweet Rain can be unfairly overlooked. Standing in the shadow of the unprecedented mainstream success of Getz’s bossa period that came before, the Creed Taylor produced Sweet Rain is as perfect a straight-ahead date as the leader ever made, with a remarkable young band including pianist Chick Corea, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Grady Tate providing crackling energy that clearly inspired Getz to new heights of expression. Bookended by the Corea compositions “Litha” and future standard “Windows,” Sweet Rain finds Getz’s warm, breathy tenor in top form despite minor articulation issues on the second half reportedly ascribed to his continuing drug use, with his accuracy and speed remaining pinpoint in execution, in evidence particularly on Corea’s breakneck paced and rhythmically slippery opener “Litha.” The date served to make a standard of British composer Mike Gibbs’ title tune, with exploratory takes on compositions by past collaborators Antonio Carlos Jobim and Gillespie rounding out the set.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.43 / 5