Stan Getz was born in Brooklyn, New York, in December 1934. He grew up surrounded by music. His father, Nathan, was a musician and his mother, Shirley, was a singer. Getz learned to play the trumpet at age ten, which he says was an unexpected gift from his mother
"Music is in my blood," Getz wrote. "I have no doubt that I could have been a star in any other field but I felt music was my true vocation." Getz started out in high school playing in a jazz band with his brother, Steve, who was also a musician.
My life is music, and in some vague, mysterious and subconscious way, I have always been driven by a taut inner spring which has propelled me to almost compulsively reach for perfection in music, often - in fact, mostly - at the expense of everything else in my life.Stan Getz
If you like an instrument that sings, play the saxophone. At its best it's like the human voice.Stan Getz
