Chet Baker

[Joe (SoCal)]

Tragic, yet one of the most clearest trumpet player ever, I like him more than Miles.






He went from James Dean good looks to Junky but man he could blow.

[skuthorp]

Re: Chet Baker

What an interesting face, full of character and a real task for an artist.
I admit I've not listened to much of his work.

[Joe (SoCal)]

Re: Chet Baker

What an interesting face, full of character and a real task for an artist.
I admit I've not listened to much of his work.

His vocals can be somewhat schmaltzy especially his version of "My Funny Valentine" , but his horn is clear as a bell. Oh an Miles never sang.

[Jim Bow]

Re: Chet Baker

His, “My Funny Valentine” can break your heart when you learn the story behind it.

[Dave Lesser]

Re: Chet Baker

It sure can.

[WI-Tom]

Re: Chet Baker

He also got beat up (by some drug dealers, I think), lost his teeth, and rebuilt himself as a trumpet player using false teeth. Not easy to do, but some of his late work is among his best, when he was living in Amsterdam.

Charlie Parker was the first big player to hire Chet--here's what Parker told Dizzy and Miles: "There's a little white cat on the West Coast gonna eat you up."

This is one of my favorite solos from Chet:

[dutchpp]

Re: Chet Baker

If you want to learn how to build a solo, listen to this from 2:35 until 7:05.

[dutchpp]

Re: Chet Baker

His life ended when he fell out of the window of this hotel in Amsterdam in 1988, Hotel Prins Hendrik.
Perhaps a somewhat predictable ending for somebody with a very heavy heroin addiction.
But he sure was a great musician.
hotel prins hendrik.jpg

[Breakaway]

Chet Baker

His vocals can be somewhat schmaltzy especially his version of "My Funny Valentine" , but his horn is clear as a bell. Oh an Miles never sang.

Yes, Miles didnt sing.

Chet was never a leader.

We all have our talents.

Kevin




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[ron ll]

Re: Chet Baker

Thanks for posting Joe. I knew the name as a jazz trumpeter, didn’t know he sang. The voice sure doesn’t match the face. Expected him to sound more like Curly in “City Slickers”. I’ve been on an Oscar Peterson binge lately, time to listen to some Chet Baker.

[Gerarddm]

Re: Chet Baker

No, I disagree. His version of My Funny Valentine is THE definitive version.

[Jfitzger]

Re: Chet Baker

I discovered Chet Baker when I was teenager and saw Bruce Weber's 1988 documentary, "Let's Get Lost," at a film fest. I highly recommend if you can find it.

I love his voice. It has slightly amateurish quality but what to some might be considered schmaltzy I think of as vulnerable. It's that heart on the sleeve emotional vulnerability that really sells his songs.

I don't play trumpet so I don't feel qualified to judge if Baker or Miles was a better trumpet player. I also don't really see the point. I will say that Miles Davis had a wildly creative and influential career that very few can equal.

[WI-Tom]

Re: Chet Baker

I don't play trumpet so I don't feel qualified to judge if Baker or Miles was a better trumpet player. I also don't really see the point. I will say that Miles Davis had a wildly creative and influential career that very few can equal.

"Better" is a useless descriptor. Chet was Chet. Miles was Miles.

(Actually, Miles evolved through at least several manifestations, and had no interest in staying with the same style--some of his stuff feels dated to me now, the way that any cutting-edge fad can feel dated in hindsight).

Tom

[dutchpp]

Re: Chet Baker

Chet had the tendency to play just behind the beat, that gave him the opportunity to quickly respond to the playing of his fellow musicians.
A cool skill.

[Osborne Russell]

Re: Chet Baker

Chet doing his thing in Italy: