Nubya Garcia and Peter Edwards [Jessica Eliza Ross]

STAN Getz was a tremendous tenor player but, by all accounts, a not-so-tremendous human being. When his old colleague, trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, heard Stan was going in for heart surgery he asked: “What, are they putting one in?” Zoot Sims once described the unpredictable Getz as “a nice bunch of guys”.

Personal demons aside, the saxman left behind a legacy of timeless recordings, including the Getz/Gilberto album that gave us The Girl from Ipanema and Astrid Gilberto’s fragile yet affecting vocal; Stan Getz and Bill Evans; Stan Getz and Oscar Peterson Jr; Captain Marvel, a session with what was effectively Chick Corea’s Return to Forever band, and the 1961 set Focus.

The latter is Stan Getz-with-strings and therefore part of a much-maligned subset within jazz. Even Charlie Parker’s orchestral efforts were derided as a commercial sell-out at the time (although history has revised that verdict).

Focus is different from most string-driven things. In many examples of jazz with orchestra pairings, the strings are mere adornment or window dressing. Arranger Eddie Sauter wrote non-melodic frameworks for Getz to improvise over, either live or as later over-dubs.

The result is a world away from the slightly cloying feel an orchestra can bring to jazz – it is astringent and modern, with a distinctly European avant-garde feel.

It fits into what used to be known as Third Steam, occupying the middle ground between jazz and classical.

The album is very rarely performed live, so it is intriguing that Camden-born sax player Nubya Garcia is tackling it on September 15 at The Royal Festival Hall. She will be backed by the 32-piece Nu Civilisation Orchestra under the direction of Peter Edwards.

The orchestra was the creation of bassist Gary Crosby, OBE, co-founder of Tomorrow’s Warriors. He says: “[Focus] is a near-perfect balance between jazz and classical music. Nubya’s part will be entirely improvised to capture the spontaneity and musical essence that Sauter’s compositions sought bring from Getz.”

Joel Ross

Peter Edwards adds: “I’m very much encouraging Nubya to make it her own.”

The first half of the evening will consist of the world premiere of two new works for string orchestra commissioned by Tomorrow’s Warriors, from black British composers Oleta Haffner and NCO’s Peter Edwards. Should be quite the treat. Tickets: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/gigs/nu-civilisation-orchestra-nubya-garcia-focus

It was pianist Alex Webb, the hardest working man on London’s jazz scene (see https://copaseticfoundation.org/upcoming-events/ for proof) who tipped me to vibes player Joel Ross. He said that Ross’s Parable of the Prophet (Blue Note) was his favourite album of 2022, and it is certainly very fine, exuding a quiet, devotional intensity, as if Coltrane had switched to vibes.

Since then, I have come across him on several albums, where his work has always enhanced rather than merely decorated a tune.

He is on Meshell Ndegeocello’s excellent The Omnichord Real Book (which she’ll be playing at Ronnie Scott’s on September 7 and 8, www. https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/find-a-show/meshell-ndegeocello) and drummer Jonathan Blake’s powerful meditation on his father’s death The Passage (Blue Note). Joel Ross himself is bringing his GOOD VIBES show to Camden’s Jazz Café on Monday, October 23. I know it’s a way away, but every vibraphone player in town will want a ticket for this one. Book soon. See: https://thejazzcafelondon.com/event/joel-ross-good-vibes/

In a different timeframe you’ll have to get your skates on to catch rising sax star Emma Rawicz at the Jazz Café on September 1. She is launching her excellent sophomore album Chroma (ACT), featuring vibrant interaction between a crack band including guitarist Ant Law and pianist Ivo Neame. There’ll be more about this increasingly sophisticated young player anon, when we cover the London Jazz Festival. https://thejazzcafelondon.com/event/emma-rawicz-2/