The Year of Tony Bennett wishes to acknowledge the birthday of the late Stan Getz, who was born on February 2, 1927 in Philadelphia. We celebrate his career today with our song of the day for February 2, 2013: Just Friends.

About Just Friends

Just Friends dates from 1931 and was written by John Klenner and Sam M. Lewis. It was introduced in 1931 by Red McKenzie and His Orchestra, but became a hit song in 1932 with the Russ Columbo recording. It’s become a solid jazz standard, with recordings by Chet Baker, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Sonny Stitt, among others.

About This Version

In 1964, Tony Bennett got together with a notable quartet of jazz musicians: Stan Getz (tenor sax), Ron Carter (bass), Herbie Hancock (piano) and Elvin Jones (bass) for two sessions: one in May and another in October. The result was a handful of impeccable jazz recordings. Originally, there was to be a release called Tony Bennett, Stan Getz and Friends. This recording was never released, but thankfully the recordings were subsequently released.

 

The compilation album Jazz, released in 1987, contained all the songs they recorded: Danny Boy, Day Dream, Out Of This World, Have You Met Miss Jones and today’s song, Just Friends. All of these songs were on the first volume of Rarities in the 2011 Complete Collection.

Just Friends, as well as the full Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Volume 1, is available from iTunes. Jazz is available from retailers including Barnes and Noble.