Stan Getz – Focus (Verve Vault Series)

Focus, released in 1961 on Verve Records, stands as a singular entry in saxophonist Stan Getz’s discography — a chamber jazz suite composed and arranged by Eddie Sauter, with Getz as its sole improviser. Recorded in July 1961 at Webster Hall in New York City, Focus pairs Getz’s expressive tenor saxophone with a string orchestra conducted by Hershy Kay.

Sauter’s seven-movement suite — originally envisioned for violinist Jascha Heifetz — unfolds in layered harmonic landscapes and orchestral textures. Getz’s parts were entirely improvised, captured live in single takes without written music, as he navigated pre-composed frameworks with melodic invention and emotional clarity. The album represents a true collaboration between Sauter and Getz, and a radical departure from the conventions of jazz “with strings” albums of the time. Sauter’s charts emphasize contrapuntal writing, rhythmic complexity, and harmonic ambiguity, while Getz — unedited and unrehearsed in the traditional sense — weaves a lyrical, instinctive line throughout. The result remains one of the most original and artistically daring projects in Getz’s recorded legacy; the artist’s favorite of all the records he made.

The Verve Vault series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.