Stan Getz…and John Coltrane. Yes, this really happened.

John Coltrane, tenor sax Stan Getz, tenor sax Oscar Peterson, piano Jimmy Cobb, drums I didn’t know these four had performed together. On paper, it’s sounds great. In reality, it’s even greater. What about the name “Hackensack?” It’s the name of a town and a river across the Hudson River in New Jersey, just a five minute drive (without traffic, a big “If”) from Manhattan. Hackensack was the original location of legendary recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s first studio (his parent’s home.) He later moved it to Fort Lee, NJ. “Hackensack” was first recorded on Monk’s first visit to the Hackensack studio which took place on May 11, 1954. My guess is he arrived at the studio without a tune, and without a name “presto” a title was born.


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