Chet Baker

• deluxe 180-gram VINYL

• LIMITED HAND-NUMBERED EDITION

• gatefold SLEEVE

• remastered from the original analogue tapes

The album title may suggest otherwise, but this is a studio album, not a live date. "Capolinea" is a recording studio in Milan, Italy, where this album was recorded in October 1983. The band features Michel Graillier on piano, Riccardo del Fra on bass and Nicola Stilo on flute, all of them musicians who recorded frequently with Baker. The drummer is Leo Mitchell, and as an added extra, Baker's girlfriend Diane Vavra appears briefly in one of her rare recorded performances on soprano saxophone.

The mood on this album is gently relaxed, but not really slow. It is one of my mellower jazz records, strictly to be played after 10pm only. The tempo is a soft mid-tempo throughout, and the overall sound is significantly determined by Stilo's flute and Graillier's lush piano solos. Baker himself seems a bit held back, or at least it appears that way, since he never takes the first solo spot and his solos seem shorter than Stilo's, but his performances are flawless and wonderfully lyrical.

PERSONNEL:

• Chet Baker - (trumpet)
• Nicola Stilo - (flute)
• Diane Vavra - (soprano saxophone)
• Michel Graillier - (piano)
• Riccardo Del Fra - (bass)
• Leo Mitchell - (drums)

Recorded at Cap Studio, Milano, October 1983

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Estate
• A2. Francamente
• A3. Dream Drops

• SIDE B
• B1. Lament
• B2. Pioggia Sul Deserto
• B3. Finestra Sul Mare