Above a clip of Astrud Gilberto singing "Girl From Ipanema" with Stan Getz in the 1964 flick "Get Yourself A College Girl." I saw a terrific documentary about Anita O'Day today called ANITA O'DAY–THE LIFE OF A JAZZ SINGER While searching through youtube clips of her I found one where she sang in a band with Stan Getz. This led me to research Stan's biography.
Stan Getz (Stanley Gayetzky) was born on February 2, 1927 in Philadelphia. Stan's younger brother Robert was born in 1932. His parents were Ukrainian-Jews who immigrated from the Kiev area in the Ukraine in 1903. The family later moved to New York City's lower east side and then later the Bronx for better jobs. Stan worked hard in school receiving straight "A's" on average and finished 6th grade close to the top of his class. Stan's major interest was in musical instruments, and he felt a need to play every instrument in his sight. He played a number of instruments before his father bought him his first saxophone at the age of 13. Even though his father also got him a clarinet, Stan instantly fell in love with the saxophone and began practicing 8 hours a day. In 1941, he was accepted into the All City High School Orchestra of New York City.
I later discovered on the Stan Getz site that his mother's name was Goldie. With this clue, (since there were several Getz's in the 1930 census), I was able to find Stan (age 3) living with his parents Albert and Goldie at 288 Monroe Street! That address is now part of the Vladeck Houses (around Jackson Street).
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