Chet Baker

This LP presents Chet Baker in a quartet format with the remarkable Russ Freeman on piano. This was the first group Chet fronted as a leader after Gerry Mulligan’s imprisonment broke up the celebrated piano-less quartet, which had launched the trumpeter to fame. One of the greatest trumpeters and most popular cult-figures in jazz history, Baker was as famous for his rugged good looks and stormy personal life as he was for his gentle vocals and lyrical introspective trumpet playing. Gaining fame as a member of Gerry Mulligan’s heralded piano-less quartet, Baker quickly became the undisputed trumpet king of the 1950s West Coast cool jazz sound. His beautiful tone, delicate and haunting melodic lines and masterful sense of space imbued his music with a warm, nostalgic quality, and earned him a fan base that extended well beyond the boundaries of the traditional jazz enthusiast. He once stated: “As I rely 100% on the ear, I react strongly to everything that goes on around me. The conditions that I’ve had while learning to play do not exist anymore. I feel like I belong to a species, threatened by destruction. Sad, in a way, but that’s what they call progress, isn’t it?” A brilliant improviser, Baker’s silky lines seemed to glide through the air with effortless grace, spinning webs of dreamy sentimental moods and textures.