Billboard : 04/02/1955
Score of 80

With an ambitious concert album like this under his belt, Stan Getz may be said to have gotten the final measure of recognition of his contribution to contemporary jazz. These “live” takes from the wind-up concert of last year’s tour exhibit the exciting elements he has consistently injected into the modern musical scene. The solid ensemble feel of these sides is due in no small part to the brilliant assistance of trombonist Bob Brookmeyer and pianist John Williams. Commercial appeal of this package is enhanced by the folio of photos of Getz included with the set.

—–

Cashbox : 03/26/1955

The album was recorded at the closing session of one of Norman Granz’ recent jazz concerts. To capture the real excitement of a concert, you hear the crowd noises and introductions by Duke Ellington. Included in the album is a bound pictorial review of the “cool” saxist. Many of these pictures are familiar to those who have been buying previous Getz issues, tho this is the first Getz concert album. Supporting Getz are Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone; John Williams on piano; Art Mardigan on drums and Billy Anthony on bass.

—–

Saturday Review
Whitney Balliett : 04/30/1955

A superior example of warm modern jazz at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on the last night of the recent Brubeck–Ellington–Mulligan–Getz tour. Getz is accompanied by Bob Brookmeyer, Johnny Williams, Bill Anthony, Art Mardigan, and Frank Isola. Especially attractive are the solos and interlinear weavings of the horns on the last four or five selections, two of which were recorded in a studio the following night to fill out the set.

—–

Down Beat : 04/20/1955
Nat Hentoff : 5 stars

Stan Getz at the Shrine is Stan’s first concert album. The occasion was the final night in last season’s Norman Granz-produced Ellington–Brubeck–Mulligan-Getz tour, and the palace was the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The first three sides of this four-sided set are from that concert with Bob Brookmeyer, John Williams, Bill Anthony, and Art Mardigan. Last side (Together and Feather Merchant) was made the next day with Frank Isola (who had played with Gerry Mulligan on the tour) on drums in place of Mardigan. Album opens impromptu with Williams warming up, and then comes Duke Ellington’s polished, affable introduction. Rest of the concert intros are by Getz, who reveals a shy but articulate platform manner.

Despite the fact that there was some tension in the band that night, the concert sections are all of considerable worth. Outstanding are Williams (a stabbing, pulsating, leanly imaginative pianist); Brookmeyer (the valve trombonist with seemingly endless improvisational ideas of a high level of organization and imagination); and Mr. Getz. Stan is getting more and more away from the rather Vogue-Harper’s Bazaar-like tone that used to characterize him. His tone is still eloquently individual, but it has added strength and enough hardness to make for a balanced to all kinds of material. Similarly, Stan is swinging harder than ever before. His imaginative improvisational patterns continue to flow with rare taste and a moving emotional pulse.

In addition to the standards, there are are three originals: Johnny Mandel‘s agile Pernod; Al Cohn‘s wonderfully easeful Tasty Pudding, played with slow funky warmth here; and Bob Brookmeyer’s spry Open Country. A happy repertoire thought on the the next day’s session was the jumping inclusion of the Count Basie–Jimmy Mundy Feather Merchant. An impressive aspect of the playing on this set is the caliber and musical sensitivity of the interplay between Brookmeyer and Getz, and the fact that the group is swingingly and freshly at home on any kind of material. Recoded sound is the best Norgran-Clef has reached. Album also contains a Pictoral Review of Stan Getz, 10 pictures by Phil Stern. The EP box has the same folio, in smaller size.

—–

Liner Notes by Norman Granz

I have always held to the theory that if you are lucky and if the acoustics are right, it’s possible to get a much better recording session at a concert than in a studio, particularly if the music played is completely improvised. This, of course, is applicable most often to a small combination. I have done it for years, of course, with Jazz at the Philharmonic with its jam session, but only occasionally have I recorded small groups in albums of their own at my concerts (I did the Gene Krupa album at JATP and Oscar Peterson at Carnegie, to name a few.)

These records, as you can tell from the title, are of the Stan Getz Quintet. In 1954, I presented a nation-wide concert tour with the Duke Ellington band, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and the Stan Getz Quintet. On the closing night of the tour I decided to record the Getz portion of the concert, and since the tour closed at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, it was there that these sides were recorded.

The Getz group for this tour consisted of Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone; John Williams on piano; Art Mardigan on drums; and Bill Anthony on bass. Williams and Brookmeyer have been heard before with Getz on his various “Interpretations” albums. Art Mardigan, a product of the Detroit school of jazz, has recently been with the Woody Herman band (I’m not sure which Herd this one is, but a recent one, in any event), and Bill Anthony has been with various small jazz combinations.

Since it was the closing night of the tour, we probably get lucky with Stan, because everyone felt that this was the last of a concert of one-nighters and the “wraps” in a sense were off.

Duke Ellington (he with the cooool, immaculate, calm, measured, casual, restrained voice) introduces Stan and at the end of the set brings him back for his final applause. All the other introductions of the tunes, and the introductions of the personnel of the group are made by Stan himself, and even if I may be pointing out something obvious to you, it’s easy to see that the tone of his voice is a lot like the tone of his horn – light and cool. Stan even went so far as to name each tune’s composer, all of which renders writing this note that much easier.

Though Stan has been recoding for me for almost three years, and has done many, many things, subjectively I think that these will rank with the finest sides that he has ever made – but confirmation of that, of course, will only come from your own listening.

As it often happens at these concerts, you can’t time them as well as you could a regular studio date, and Stan ran over his allotted time. He become so enthused with what the group was doing and the way the audience reacted that he played more than he normally would have; all of which is to the good. Instead of winding up with one twelve-inch LP we had enough material for 1 1/2 twelve-inch records, and rather than lose the extra side, we have added to the second side of the second LP two compositions: Feather Merchant and We’ll Be Together Again, which Stan recorded immediately the following night, with virtually the same personnel, the only change being Frank Isola on drums in place of Art Mardigan.

This, then, is Stan Getz’s first concert set.