JAZZ : NEW RELEASES : For Stan Getz, a Triumphant Swan Song

**** STAN GETZ/KENNY BARRON “People Music” Verve

This two-disc set, completed at the Montmartre in Copenhagen exactly three months before Getz died last year, was a superlative swan song. Always an emotionally charged artist, he seemed more impassioned than ever, as if giving his all while it could still be given.

Getz insisted on equal billing for pianist Barron, who as accompanist-soloist consistently rewards. The choice of songs too left no room for improvement, among them Charlie Haden’s lyrical “First Song,” Benny Golson’s “Stablemates” and “I Remember Clifford,” Mal Waldron’s “Soul Eyes” and Benny Carter’s title tune.

Valuable also are Barron’s poignant liner notes, in which he describes the saxophonist’s ability to overcome physical problems, and his generosity as a human being during those last days. The empathy between these two inspired men is vital to this climax to Getz’s long, triumphant career.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent). A rating of five stars is reserved for classic reissues or retrospectives.