Focus (Verve Vault Series)

Focus, recorded at Webster Hall in New York City and released in 1961 on Verve Records, stands as a singular entry in saxophonist Stan Getz’s discography. Focus pairs Getz’s expressive tenor saxophone with a string orchestra conducted by Hershy Kay. Getz’s parts were entirely improvised, 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.