Chet Baker - At Capolinea (1983)

This studio session is distinguished by excellent, mostly Italian jazz tunes, and a very attractive group of players not usually associated with the trumpeter. The compatible flute of Nicola Stilo wonderfully complements Baker's dry, unemotional sound, while the addition of a third horn, Diane Varva's soprano sax, adds body to the sound. A very strong rhythm section of pianist Michel Grailler, bassist Riccardo dal Frà, and drummer Leo Mitchell rounds out a tight, well-groomed collective. Baker is in fine form, but he skips the vocals. Bruno Martino's "Estate" is hauntingly rendered, while J.J. Johnson's "Lament" is given an attractive reading. This amounts to a very accessible, enjoyable set of tunes -- one that may not win any awards, but should reward those who appreciate the delicate and lovely nature of Chet Baker's art. ~ by Steve Loewy, AMG. 

Red Records, RR 123206 - 2 CD, 1996
Recorded October 1983 at Cap Studio, Milano, Italy 

Musicians:
Chet Baker - Trumpet
Nicola Stilo - Flute
Diane Varva - Soprano Sax
Michel Grailler - Piano
Riccardo Del Frà - Bass
Leo Mitchell - Drums 

Tracks:
1. Estate {Bruno Martino} (11:50)
2. Francamente {Nicola Stilo} (5:13)
3. Dream Drop {Michel Grailler} (4:22)
4. Lament {J.J. Johnson} (9:34)
5. Pioggia Sul Deserto {Nicola Stilo} (5:24)
6. Finestra Sul Mare {Riccardo Del Frà} (6:50) 

Total Time: 43:34 

Credits:
Producer - Giorgio Vanni
Recording Engineer - Gianni Prudente
Remixing Engineer - Giancarlo Barigozzi
Layout - Marco E Alessandra Pennisi
Photo - Paola Bensi

LINK

Dream Drops

Chet Baker Quartet - Chet Baker In Paris Vol. 1 (1956)

In October 1955, Chet Baker and his Quartet were to give a series of concerts, notably in France. Many French people expected a playboy and dilettante trumpeter to get off the plane; the man who arrived was someone who lived only for, and by, his art. A first album recorded in Paris placed him in the jazz avant-garde; the series of recordings that followed formed the private journal of someone so incapable of hiding his emotions that he sublimated them in the only way he knew: in music. Volume One brings together the first two sessions recorded on October 11 and 14, 1955. With Richard “Dick” Twardzik on piano, Jimmy Bond on bass and Peter Littmann on drums, Chet performs eight originals of Robert L. ‘Bob’ Zieff ("Rondette," "Pièce-Caprice," "Mid-Forte," "Re-search," "Pomp," "Sad Walk," "Just Duo," "Brash") plus a solitary contribution from Twardzik ("The Girl From Greenland.") ~ shop.udiscovermusic.com. 

Recorded 11th & 14th October, 1955 at the Pathé-Magellan Studio, Paris, France 

Musicians:
Chet Baker - Trumpet
Dick Twardzik - Piano
Jimmy Bond - Bass
Peter Littman - Drums 

Tracks:
A1. Rondette {Bob Zieff} (2:10)
A2. Pièce Caprice {Bob Zieff} (5:11)
A3. Mid-Forte {Bob Zieff} (3:07)
A4. Re-search {Bob Zieff} (5:00)
A5. Pomp {Bob Zieff} (4:42)
B1. Sad Walk {Bob Zieff} (4:15)
B2. Just Duo {Bob Zieff} (4:12)
B3. The Girl From Greenland {Dick Twardzik} (5:15)
B4. Brash {Bob Zieff} (5:54) 

Total Time: 39:53

LINK

Brash

Chet Baker Quartet - Chet Baker In Paris Vol. 2 (1956)

In October 1955, Chet Baker and his Quartet were to give a series of concerts, notably in France. Many French people expected a playboy and dilettante trumpeter to get off the plane; the man who arrived was someone who lived only for, and by, his art. A first album recorded in Paris placed him in the jazz avant-garde; the series of recordings that followed formed the private journal of someone so incapable of hiding his emotions that he sublimated them in the only way he knew: in music. On Volume Two, recorded October 24, just three days after Twardzik's passing (due to an overdose), Chet leads his quartet with only Jimmy Bond left from his original accompanying trio, young French pianist Gérard Gustin, and Swedish drummer Nils-Bertil Dahlander (filling in Peter Littman who returned to America). Given the context, they fall back on standards, Chet choosing eight: "These Foolish Things," "There's a Small Hotel," "Autumn In New York," "Summertime," "You Go To My Head," "Tenderly," "I'll Remember April," and "Lover Man."  The whole session exudes a kind of sadness that's impossible to put down, whatever the choice of tune or tempo. ~ shop.udiscovermusic.com. 

Recorded 24th October, 1955 at Studio Pathe Magellan, Paris, France 

Musicians:
Chet Baker - Trumpet
Gérard Gustin - Piano
Jimmy Bond - Bass
Bert Dahlander - Drums 

Tracks:
A1. There's A Small Hotel {Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart} (3:47)
A2. I'll Remember April {Don Raye, Gene De Paul, Patricia Johnston} (5:54)
A3. These Foolish Things {Harry Link, Holt Mavell, Jack Strachey} (4:44)
A4. Autumn In New York {Vernon Duke} (7:07)
B1. Summertime {DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin} (4:15)
B2. You Go To My Head {J. Fred Coots} (5:53)
B3. Tenderly {Jack Lawrence, Walter Gross} (6:40)
B4. Lover Man {Jimmy Davis, Jimmy Sherman, Roger Ramirez} (4:55) 

Total Time: 43:20

LINK 

You Go To My Head

Chet Baker Quartet - Live At Fasching, Stockholm, Sweden (1978)

Chet Baker was very active in Europe, especially after his famous comeback in the early 1970s, but he had already been banned from several countries by the late 1960s, including France, Switzerland, and Italy, following the Lucca riots. In Germany, for example, he was arrested in Berlin for drug possession and, after being held in prison for 40 days, was banished from the country and deported to the USA in March 1964. There, as throughout Europe, Chet's figure became legendary, and when he was able to return in the fall of 1978, thanks to the efforts of John Snyder and Gabrielle Kleinschmidt, the fan reception was remarkable, and many clubs hired the trumpeter again. On November 1st, Baker embarked on a long tour with Phil Markowitz on piano, Jeff Brillinger on drums, and Scott Lee on bass, as usual disorganized to the point of exhaustion, with daily stops ranging from Berlin to France, from Nuremberg to the Netherlands, from Dortmund to Stockholm, and so on. From those two months in 1978, at least four historic recordings are known to exist in the archives, two of which with Jean-Louis Rassinfosse replacing Scott Lee: "Live at Nick's" in the Netherlands, and the three titles recorded in France: "Live in Chateauvallon," "Broken Wing," and "Two a Day." However, many other recorded concerts are circulating among fans, but they have not been turned into official releases. ~ Extract from jazzfromitaly.blogspot.com. [Translated from Italian] 

One such recording is this one, an audience recording captured in 1978 live at a concert held in Fasching, Sweden. The original FLAC tracks were located via Soulseek, but needed some TLC.  Converted to WAV removing excess applause at beginning and end. Finally, tested and re-encoded to FLAC adding tags and some art, enjoy! 

Audience Recording
Recorded 11th December, 1978 Live at Fasching, Stockholm, Sweden 

Musicians:
Chet Baker - Trumpet, Vocals
Phil Markowitz - Piano
Jean-Louis Rassinfosse - Bass
Jeff Brilllinger - Drums

Tracks:
1. If I Should Lose You {Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin} (11:41)
2. Sad Walk {Bob Zieff} (15:30)
3. There Will Never Be Another You {Harry Warren, Mack Gordon} (10:12)
4. But Not For Me {George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin} (12:15)
5. Love For Sale {Cole Porter} (15:37)
6. The Touch Of Your Lips {Ray Noble} (15:31) 

Total Time: 01:20:46

LINK

Love For Sale [Excerpt]

Russ Freeman ~ Chet Baker Quartet (1956) [vinyl]

Can you remember those far off pre-internet days, when the only way to hear the music was to physically acquire a copy of the LP?
Out of print, this had been on my wish list for years, my heart leapt when it wa reissued by the Japanese in 1978, but these limited edition high quality pressings were very expensive in the UK - outside my price range - until I stumbled across this second hand copy in Honest Jons in the Portobello Road, London - heaven!

These days of course you just download the CD reissue or the Mosaic set from some Russian site, but for me this 12" slab of cardboard and vinyl is still heaven, and I thought I'd share it with you.

01 - Love Nest
02 - Fan Tan
03 - Summer Sketch
04 - An Afternoon At Home
05 - Say When
06 - Lush Life
07 - Amblin'
08 - Hugo Hurwhey

Chet Baker (trumpet) Russ Freeman (piano) Leroy Vinnegar (bass) Shelly Manne (drums)
Los Angeles, CA, November 6, 1956
[King Jazz GXF 3104 reissue of Pacific Jazz PJ-1232]

Chet Baker - Comin' On & Cool Burnin'

As promised here is the rest of the output of this brief spark in the Chet Baker story. The seven tracks of "Comin' On" and the first 3 of "Cool Burnin'" complete the full sessions. Tracks 4-7 of Cool Burnin' are repeated on the "On A Misty Night" disc.

I wonder what the rest of the story was behind these sessions, beyond Baker's trumpet being 'stolen' (pawned?) and the sessions being played on flugelhorn. His sessions for a year preceding these were on Limelight, those that follow are at World Pacific. This abrupt and short-lived appearance on Prestige (3 days), given what we know about the way business was done at Prestige, sounds like a cash grab for dope or debts. Chet's later complaint sounds suspiciously like those of a junkie who has forgotten he chose cash on the barrel-head.

Chet Baker - Smokin' and Groovin'

The first 2 releases from Baker's short lived 'hard bop' band that recorded 5 albums in 3 days and then apparently disbanded. These are some of my personal favorites amongst Chet recordings. George Coleman had just been let go by Miles and plays like he has something to prove. These were also the first time I recall hearing Kirk Lightsey although he may well have recorded prior to these sessions and I just don't know it. The great drummer Roy Brooks and bassist Herman Wright were the other two 5ths of the quintet. The crush of recordings in 3 days and the subsequent album titles are clearly an echo of the October 1956 Miles Davis sessions that yielded Workin', Steamin, Cookin' and Relaxin'. Given that both groups of recordings were done for Prestige, the similarities are pretty obviously intentional.

The final album of the series [Boppin'] along with most of the 4th [Cool Burnin'] are currently over at Bolden's thanks to grumpy - I'll do the 3rd [Comin' On] and the complete 4th album in a day or two. As mentioned on the other post, Chet plays all flugelhorn here. The recordings were pretty much unprecedented in Baker's discography before or after.