Stan Getz – Sweet Rain

A new quartet for Stan Getz

In March 1967, Stan Getz records with Chick Corea, Ron Carter and Grady Tate at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs. Gary Burton had left his group, and the 25-year-old Corea took the piano role in the new line-up. Creed Taylor produced, with Rudy Van Gelder engineering. Sweet Rain places Getz in an acoustic quartet whose repertoire deserves as much attention as the musicians’ names.

The session discography identifies two dates, March 21 and March 30, for the five selections on this LP. Corea’s “Litha” opens the album, and his “Windows” closes it. The young pianist’s compositions frame Michael Gibbs’s title piece, Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes’s “O Grande Amor”, and Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma”.

Five compositions, several directions

The selection brings together different musical connections. “O Grande Amor” maintains a link with the Brazilian repertoire Getz had already explored. “Con Alma” leads to Gillespie, while “Sweet Rain” places another composer at the centre. Corea participates as both pianist and writer: his pieces help determine the album’s shape rather than merely adding a contribution from a new band member.

A useful listening approach is to compare the opening and closing tracks. What remains consistent in the relationship between tenor saxophone and piano, and what changes with the composition? Then consider the title track as a separate centre of attention. A five-track programme offers room to follow these relationships without continually anticipating the next song.

Four musicians worth following

Getz plays tenor saxophone, Corea piano, Carter bass and Tate drums on all five tracks. There is no extended guest list. The constant line-up encourages a different kind of exploration: temporarily move attention away from the leading melodic voice. How do bass and drums establish reference points? How does the piano respond, and where is space left between the players?

These are invitations to listen, not claims about a particular playback system. Affection for a record often begins with one familiar voice and develops through the other musicians. Sweet Rain offers a clear setting for that process: four people, five compositions and a 1967 album that can be approached from another angle on each return.

The complete Verve programme

This Acoustic Sounds Series release appeared in 2024 as a 180-gram stereo LP at 33⅓ RPM. Ryan K. Smith handled mastering and cutting at Sterling Sound. Quality Record Pressings manufactures the record, with a Stoughton tip-on gatefold. The label specifies original analogue tapes as the source without establishing a more precise tape generation.

All five original selections are included, specifically “Windows”, which is missing from some product listings. The catalogue number for this edition is AVER 512469. Additional, then-unreleased recordings from the March sessions are not part of the LP. The result is an unambiguous presentation of the original Sweet Rain programme, distinguished from unrelated tracklists and other editions.

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More from the series: Verve (Acoustic Sounds Series)

Series: Verve – all 34 records: voices, organ and bossa nova

Musicians

Participants and documented credit status. Track references correspond to the tracklist.

• Stan Getztenor saxophoneParticipation: Album personnel
• Chick CoreapianoParticipation: Album personnel
• Ron CarterbassParticipation: Album personnel
• Grady TatedrumsParticipation: Album personnel

Produced by Creed Taylor. Recording: Rudy Van Gelder. All four musicians on all five tracks. Sessions on March 21 and 30, 1967; Windows is included on this LP.