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Chet Baker

Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. was raised in a musical household in Oklahoma (his father was a guitar player), and coming of age in Southern California during the bebop era of jazz, Baker found success as a trumpet player in 1951 when he was chosen by Charlie Parker to play with him for a series of West Coast engagements.

In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon. Baker became famous on the strength of his solo on their recording of "My Funny Valentine" a piece he was later said to "own". The Quartet, however, lasted less than a year because of Mulligan's arrest on drug charges.

In 1954, Baker won the Downbeat Jazz Poll, beating Miles Davis among others. Over the next few years, Baker fronted his own combo, playing trumpet and singing. He became an icon of the west coast "cool school" of jazz, helped by his good looks and singing talent. By the early 1960s, Baker had begun playing the fluegelhorn, as well.

Then, drug addiction caught up with Baker, and his promising musical career declined as a result. Heroin addiction created a myriad of legal problems for him as well; he served more than a year in prison in Italy, and was later expelled from both West Germany and England for drug-related offenses. Baker was eventually deported from West Germany to the United States after running afoul of the law there a second time. He settled in Milpitas in northern California where he was active in San Jose and San Francisco between short jail terms served for writing his own prescriptions.

In 1966, Baker allegedly was severely beaten while attempting to buy drugs after a gig in San Francisco, sustaining severe cuts on the lips and broken front teeth, thus ruining his embouchure. Accounts of the incident vary, largely because of his lack of reliable testimony on the matter. From that time he had to learn to play with dentures, a difficult process for a brass player.

Between 1966 and 1974, Baker mostly played flugelhorn, with its wider mouthpiece, and recorded what must be considered slick mood music. He eventually moved to New York City and began recording again in earnest with other well known jazz musicians such as Jim Hall. Later in the seventies, Baker returned to Europe where he was assisted by his friend Diane Vavra who took care of his personal needs and otherwise helped him during his recording and performance dates.

Chet Baker & Jack Sheldon: In Perfect Harmony: The Lost Album

Read "In Perfect Harmony: The Lost Album" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
April 26, 2024

In Perfect Harmony: The Lost Album presents an intriguing collaboration between trumpeters Chet Baker and Jack Sheldon. Derived from a newly unearthed studio session from 1972 and released on the Jazz Detective label, it was co-produced by Zev Feldman and film producer Frank Marshall. Backed by a stellar ensemble featuring Jack Marshall (guitar), Dave Frishberg (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass) and Nick Ceroli (drums), the sextet swings through a repertoire drawn mostly from the Great American Songbook, supplemented by one original ...

Album Review

Chet Baker: Blue Room: The 1979 VARA Studio Sessions In Holland

Read "Blue Room: The 1979 VARA Studio Sessions In Holland" reviewed by Stefano Merighi

by Stefano Merighi
March 27, 2024

Possiamo cominciare da “The Best Thing for You" per osservare come Chet Baker spesso si svincoli dal consueto clichè di strumentista intimo, tormentato e romantico e assuma invece tratti perentori e assertivi. Il suo intervento tra gli accordi del brano di Irving Berlin è di una sicurezza tecnica assoluta, il timbro brunito non esclude un'effervescenza ritmica e una costruzione delle frasi che nello stesso tempo esaltano l'eloquio e i silenzi. Si tratta di un discorso che si potrebbe ...

Book Review

Jazz And Death: Reception, Rituals And Representations

by Ian Patterson
February 24, 2024

Jazz and Death: Reception, Rituals and Representations Walter van de Leur 200 Pages ISBN: 9781138553422 Routledge 2023 The title might seem a tad non-felicitous, but it surely invites reflection. How do we respond to and commemorate jazz musicians' deaths? In what ways do these rituals manifest themselves from one place and from one culture to another? Most significantly, what do the various responses to jazz deaths reveal about wider jazz culture--the traditions, heritage, ...

Album Review

Chet Baker: Blue Room: The 1979 VARA Studio Sessions In Holland

Read "Blue Room: The 1979 VARA Studio Sessions In Holland" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
April 14, 2023

Let us bring sexy back to jazz. Not that it has been misplaced but, in a world where a teenager with a horn can flawlessly navigate “Giant Steps," what seems to be the missing is the seductive element of jazz. We are undoubtedly reminded of the sensuous experience of the music which has always been reflected in the music of Chet Baker as evidenced by these newly discovered sessions from Holland in 1979. Jazz detective Zev Feldman has unearthed more ...

Journey into Jazz

Record Store Day 2023 Jazz Releases

by Kyle Simpler
April 13, 2023

Record Store Day, which started in 2007, is a biannual event designed to promote independent record stores. Every Record Store Day drop features limited-edition vinyl releases in practically every genre of music. The releases, however, are offered on a limited basis, and they are available for one time only. As a result, collectors often wait in long lines at a participating store hoping to get copies of releases before they are sold out. As expected, this 2023 drop on April ...

Album Review

Chet Baker: Live In Paris

Read "Live In Paris" reviewed by Stefano Merighi

by Stefano Merighi
December 14, 2022

A un certo punto arriva un'anonima bossanova, “Arbor Way" di Rique Pantoja, e lì ci sono cinque minuti di assolo di Chet Baker che ti avvolgono con un calore disarmante, che ti ricordano che cos'era quella sua vulnerabilità adamantina, quella sua sapienza oracolare, del tutto estranea al sistema del jazz allora imperante, quello degli “young lions" vestiti alto-borghesi, neo padroni di una lingua morta eppure machista e vincente. Siamo nel febbraio 1984, a Le Petit Opportun a Parigi, ...

Album Review

Chet Baker Trio: Live In Paris

Read "Live In Paris" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
April 17, 2022

Aside from a new album by a favourite musician, few things hold so much promise as the release of a previously unavailable recording—and if it comes up to expectations, rather than being a barrel-scraping exercise, one has lucked out. Live In Paris: The Radio France Recordings 1983 -1984 hits the sweet spot. Available as a 3 x LP box set from April 23, 2022, which is Record Store Day, and a week later as a 2 x CD box, these ...

Video / DVD

Chet Baker and Jon Eardley in Cologne

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 14, 2023

On May 21 and 23 of 1981, trumpeter Chet Baker performed at the Salt Peanuts Club in Cologne, Germany. Backing him were Jon Eardley (fhrn), Bob Mover (as), Dennis Luxion (p), Rocky Knauer (b) and Burkhart Ruckert (d, only on the first three tracks). Now Germany's Circle Records has released a streaming remaster of the performance on 'Round Midnight: Chet Baker Live in Cologne, culled from the gigs. Mark Wingfield did an incredible job on the remastering. Rudolf Kreis, who ...
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Recording

Chet Remembered: Enrico Pieranunzi, Bert Joris and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band - A Tribute To Chet Baker

Source: Vivo Musique Internationale
June 9, 2023

Enrico Pieranunzi is continuing the collaboration with Bert Joris for their second album together on Challenge. All tracks composed by Enrico Pieranunzi, arrangements by Bert Joris. This CD has a very special meaning for me. Remembering Chet takes me back to 1979 when I first met him. That meeting would soon prove to be a turning point in my musical life. Playing together, sharing concerts or recording sessions with him allowed me to be in close contact with an artist ...
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Recording

Backgrounder: Chet Baker - Pretty/Groovy

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 24, 2023

In 1958, Dick Bock of World Pacific Records decided to release a 12-inch compilation combining previously issued material by Chet Baker tracks that hadn't been released before. What they all had in common was beauty and a groove. This little-known album was called Pretty/Groovy. The songs on the album are... Look for the Silver Lining Time After Time Travelin' Light My Funny Valentine There Will Never Be Another You The Thrill Is Gone But Not for Me Band Aid The ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chet Baker

Source: Michael Ricci
December 23, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Chet Baker's birthday today!

Chesney Henry “Chet" Baker Jr. was raised in a musical household in Oklahoma (his father was a guitarist), and coming of age in Southern California during the bebop era of jazz, Baker found success as a trumpet player in 1951 when he was chosen by Charlie Parker to play with him for a series of West Coast engagements. In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon. ...
read more

Video / DVD

Chet Baker in Paris in June 1980

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
August 1, 2022

On June 25, 1980, trumpeter Chet Baker was in Paris on tour. That night, he performed at the Dreher Club, located in the basement of the building at 1 Rue Saint-Denis, at the corner of Place du Châtelet. He was backed by Nicola Stilo on flute, Karl Ratzer on guitar, Ricardo Del Fra on bass and Al Levitt on drums. The performance was taped by Germany's Circle Records.. Though the music was released 25 years ago on vinyl, the audio ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chet Baker

Source: Michael Ricci
December 23, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Chet Baker's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chet Baker

Source: Michael Ricci
December 23, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Chet Baker's birthday today!

Video / DVD

Chet Baker and Artt Frank

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
November 4, 2020

Drummer Artt Frank first heard Chet Baker on Armed Forces Radio while aboard the U.S.S. Des Moines toward the end of the Korean War, in 1953. The following year he went to see the trumpeter at George Wein's Storyville in Boston and spoke to him afterward. Baker was kind to Artt, and Artt responded to the poetic depth of Baker's music and transparency of his personality. Fast forward to 1968. Artt was in Los Angeles driving to a gig playing ...
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Video / DVD

YouTubers Dig Chet Baker

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 16, 2020

Every so often, I come across talented kids on YouTube playing the music of favorite jazz artists on their instruments. Either they're playing transcriptions of artists' solos or they're playing along to their records. What unites them is a clear passion for the music's beauty. In the past, I've featured kids playing pianist Red Garland and guitarist Barry Galbraith. Today, Chet Baker fans worldwide dig in: Here's Adam Warnke playing There Will Never Be Another You... Here's Marina Glass playing ...
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Video / DVD

Chet Baker: Sweden, 1985

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 22, 2020

On June 30, 1985, Chet Baker performed in the library of Sonet Records in Lidingö, Sweden, backed by French pianist Michael Graillier and Belgian bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse. As with the Zoot Sims video posted earlier, Red Mitchell conducted an interview that was interspersed between songs. [Photo above of Chet Baker courtesy of YouTube] Chet played the following songs and sang on some of them: Candy, Love For Sale, Tempus Fugue-It, Sad Walk, Red’s Blues, Nardis, Bye Bye Blackbird and My ...
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Recent Releases

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