Focus, initially launched in 1961 on Verve Data, stands as a singular entry in saxophonist Stan Getz’s discography — a chamber jazz suite composed and organized by Eddie Sauter, with Getz as its sole improviser. The album can be reissued on all-analog 180-gram vinyl on November 14, 2025, as a part of the Verve Vault Sequence.
Recorded in July 1961 at Webster Corridor in New York Metropolis, Focus pairs Getz’s expressive tenor saxophone with a string orchestra carried out by Hershy Kay. Sauter’s seven-movement suite — initially envisioned for violinist Jascha Heifetz — unfolds in layered harmonic landscapes and orchestral textures. Getz’s elements had been fully improvised, captured dwell in single takes with out written music, as he navigated pre-composed frameworks with melodic invention and emotional readability.
The album represents a real 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, whereas Getz — unedited and unrehearsed within the conventional sense — weaves a lyrical, instinctive line all through. The end result stays some of the unique and artistically daring initiatives in Getz’s recorded legacy.
The Verve Vault Sequence presents all-analog 180-gram vinyl reissues of important albums from the Verve, Impulse!, Mercury, and related catalogs. Mastered by Ryan Okay. Smith from the unique analog tapes and pressed at Optimum, every launch combines distinctive audio constancy with meticulous consideration to element — from mastering to jacket replica. The collection highlights each iconic titles and neglected gems from the Fifties via the Seventies.
Earlier releases embody Sonny Facet Up by Dizzy Gillespie and The Composer of Desafinado Performs by Antonio Carlos Jobim, each launched October 10, 2025.
Store the Verve Vault collection now.
