Stan Getz - Focus (Verve Vault)

• Available November 14th, 2025

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 favourite of all the records he made.

Verve Vault, a new audiophile vinyl reissue series highlighting iconic jazz albums, as well as overlooked gems from Verve’s vast catalog. The series will offer definitive, all-analog 180-gram vinyl pressings newly-mastered from the original analog master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed at Optimal in Germany. Each release will combine exceptional audio fidelity with meticulous attention to detail — from mastering to jacket reproduction. The LPs will be packaged in high-quality tip-on gatefold jackets, replicating the original packaging.

This vinyl edition produced by Verve Records for their 'Verve Vault' Series in 2025.

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