Jazz Articles about Chet Baker

Chet Baker: Chet For Lovers

by Norman Weinstein
October 15, 2003

Of course the title of this newest entry in Verve's “For Lovers" series is redundant. What did trumpeter Chet Baker ever record that wasn't directed to lovers, particularly the jaded variety? This is simply a finely honed compilation of fourteen Baker tunes spaning the fifties and sixties. Crucial are the Paris sessions from 1955, arguably the finest of his career instrumentally. Backed by an unremarkable rhythm section, Baker never sounded as delicately balanced between ecstasy and angst, so resolute and ...

Chet Baker: My Funny Valentine

by Trevor MacLaren
May 8, 2003

Chet BakerMy Funny ValentineBlue Note1953 Soft, delicate and serene, Chet Baker's voice is one of jazz's overlooked talents. Every serious jazz fan is well aware of his trumpet playing, both solo and with Gerry Mulligan's Quartet. His legendary style on the instrument helped establish his standing as one of the horn's most influential players. Baker was also an amazing vocalist; his debut recording My Funny Valentine serves as generous proof.

Chet Baker: But Not For Me

by Mark Corroto
May 2, 2003

It was easy to fall in and out of love with Chet Baker. The trumpeter and vocalist was indeed a devil with an angel’s face. His doleful approach to music drew listeners into his darkness for a brief stay at his melancholy hotel. Baker’s drug abuse eventually--it took a while--destroyed his talents. In between his dark bouts, glimpses of his genius were captured on record. In the later years of his life (he died in 1988 at age 59) his ...

Chet Baker: It Could Happen To You: Chet Baker Sings

by David Rickert
January 25, 2003

Chet Baker had a distinctive trumpet style that even Miles admired, but many may not know he was also quite accomplished as a singer. Judging by the cover (Baker’s good looks were always prominently featured on his releases), the A&R people at Riverside saw an opportunity to market Baker as a romantic crooner along the lines of Frank Sinatra or Nat King Cole. This is surprising, considering his fragile, colorless vocals certainly don’t immediately call to mind someone who could ...

Chet Baker: My Funny Valentine

by AAJ Staff
January 22, 2003

Sure, it may not be the most upbeat, dance through the sprinkler album on earth, but when the temperature rises, we all need a disc to help us cool off.

This is the coolest of the cool!

With his matinee idol looks, smoky voice and smokier horn, Chet Baker was the Caucasian lothario voice of a generation. And though his life ended tragically and far too soon, his legacy lingers long in the jazz pantheon, thanks in great part to ...

Chet Baker: The Definitive Chet Baker

by AAJ Staff
January 17, 2003

From bebop to blues, Chet Baker was one of the most diverse, accomplished and undersung heroes of the Jazz Age. Though his personal life may have been of questionable virtue, his trumpet and vocal stylings were unmatched. He brought together all sorts of stlyes and all sorts of music fans. On this latest celebration of this tragic figure, Baker even brings together two legendary jazz labels through a lovingly selected baker’s (or is that “Baker’s"?) dozen of career-spanning favorites. From ...

Chet Baker: This Time The Dream's On Me

by AAJ Staff
August 1, 2000

Completists! Documentarians! While it's necessary to get things straight, especially for an artistic form as historically nebulous as jazz, let's not let the analysis and sorting of dates and places lead us astray from the reason we listen to the music itself. James A. Harrod does a fine job of describing the circumstances behind the recordings that led to this re-issue. But the essence of This Time The Dream's On Me is an achievement, and not ...