Richard Rodgers's "This Can't Be Love" is the longest and most expansive performance on the 1957 Verve album Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi, with both saxophonists on their primary instruments delivering extended solos of remarkable quality. Stan Getz opens with six commanding choruses on tenor saxophone over the 32-bar AABA form at 265 beats per minute in A-flat major, his playing a master class in melodic invention and rhythmic fluency at speed. Gerry Mulligan matches him with six equally substantial baritone saxophone choruses, his playing demonstrating the agility and harmonic sophistication that could make the large horn sound as nimble as any instrument in jazz. Pianist Lou Levy contributes two swinging choruses, while the rhythm section of Ray Brown on bass and Stan Levey on drums propels the performance with the relentless energy the fast tempo demands. The composition, from the 1938 Rodgers and Hart musical The Boys from Syracuse, provides a bright harmonic canvas for the saxophonists' extended explorations. This track represents the album at its most generous, giving both Getz and Mulligan the space to construct fully developed improvisational statements that rank among their finest recorded work.
