This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Maybe it’s because most of the big-name pop and rock acts are hibernating. Maybe it’s because I spent the last month swinging to the Rat Pack Christmas album. Or maybe it’s just because they both start with the letters J and A. Whatever. All I know is I always seem to listen to a lot of jazz in January. Looks like this year is no exception — thanks mainly to a cornucopia of cool titles that landed in stores before the holidays. At least four respected labels — Blue Note, ECM, Impulse and Verve — have impressive and affordable new retrospectives or reissues on the racks right now. Even if you don’t know be-bop from doo-wop, I suggest you give one or two a try. Here’s a little primer to help you get into the swing on Chet Baker:
WHO: Oklahoma-born trumpeter Baker had a movie-star mug, a restrained playing style and a smoky, fragile singing voice — and used them all to climb to the top of California’s cool-jazz scene. Too bad he also had a taste for heroin that dragged him back down to the gutter again and kept him there.
WHEN: The 22-year-old Baker got his big break by playing with saxophonist (and notorious junkie) Charlie Parker in 1952. The hits and fame came thick and fast for a few years after that, but by the ’60s, his bad habits and changing musical tastes sent him on a slow downward spiral that ended when he fell (or was pushed, some claim) from a window in Amsterdam.
WHAT YOU GET: A decent, if incomplete 50-minute retrospective of highlights like Happy Little Sunbeam, Lush Life, That Old Feeling and — of course — his romantic signature version of My Funny Valentine.
WHERE HE FITS IN: As the missing link between ’50s Miles Davis and ’70s Keith Richards.
