Chet Baker

Chet Baker in Germany 1955-59 - Lmtd Edition (101 728)

Chet Baker in Germany 1955-59 - Lmtd Edition View larger

Chet Baker in Germany 1955-59 - Lmtd Edition

Chet Baker

Jazz Haus

807280172898

LPS 139284

101 728

JAZZ

1

Chet Baker in Germany 1955-59 - Lmtd Edition

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As trumpeter in the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, Chet Baker had first played his way into the hearts of fans in 1952 with lyrical ballads and a soothing tone. He gained fame seemingly overnight and in 1954 was voted best trumpeter by readers of the leading US jazz magazines – ahead of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. The gentle poet of the trumpet – that was his image. So it came as something of a surprise for European audiences to hear the Chet Baker they discovered at his live concerts: a trumpeter with a decisive attacca style and lively boppy lines, accompanied by a pianist who combined innovative harmonies with bizarre rhythms and a drummer who propelled the band with a hard, driving beat. No one was prepared for this Chet Baker Quartet, featuring pianist Dick Twardzik, bassist Jimmy Bond and drummer Peter Littman. Bockhanal is the earliest number on “Early Chet” and a particularly valuable rarity: just four weeks after this concert, the quartet no longer existed. Aged just 24, the pianist Dick Twardzik died a drug overdose in Paris on 21 October 1955.
 

Chet Baker continued his European tour with a variety of accompanying musicians. And every so often as a soloist. He was also a welcome guest of Joachim-Ernst Berendt, who would invite Baker on two further occasions to Baden-Baden to record with the Kurt Edelhagen Orchestra. The idea of recording singer Caterina Valente in duet with Chet Baker was also ahead of its time: I’ll Remember April and Every Time We Say Goodbye. “Just Caterina and Chet – no one else. A meeting of ultimate refinement and ultimate simplicity,” wrote Joachim-Ernst Berendt. In these intimate duets, Chet Baker plays trumpet as only he knows how: delicate, melodic, supple. In July 1959 he headed back to Europe and returned to Baden-Baden as well. This time he made recordings with the Rolf-Hans Müller Orchestra. Particularly convincing are his performances in Polka Dots And Moonbeams. And in Autumn in New York he coolly rubs against the grain. In a spontaneous final cadence, “Early Chet” sets out his personal agenda: to communicate real de h using few notes.



PERSONNEL:

CHET BAKER on all tracks, with:

TRACKS 2-3
CATERINA VALENTE, vocal & guitar

TRACK 7: (Chet Baker Quartet)
DICK TWARDZIK, piano
JIMMY BOND, bass
PETER LITTMAN, drums

TRACKS 1-4-7:
Orchester Kurt Edelhagen

TRACKS 8-11
Tanzorchester des Südwestfunks, conducted by Rolf-Hans Müller

DATES:

1-4: March 26, 1956
5-6: March29, 1956
8-11: September 2, 1959
7: September 20, 1955

SIDE A
01. Lullaby In Rhythm
02. I'll RememberApril
03. Every Time We Say Goodbye
04. Everything Happenes to Me
05. Baker'56
06. It Never Entered My Mind

SIDE B:
07. Bockhanal
08. I Should Care
09. Isn't It Romantic?
10. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
11. Autumn in New York