Chet Baker

[TRiP]

Big fan...couldn't find any threads, so here's one.

 

my main reason for starting it is to get a nice list of live albums together - seeing as he released so many, it would be nice to get the gold

 

Lived an Interesting life, if people are unfamiliar i'd recommend giving him a read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_Baker

 

one of the highlights is getting his teeth knocked out after a sour drug deal, and consequently having to re-learn how to play the trumpet

 

there's a pretty good documentary about him called "Let's get lost" by Bruce Webber i believe

 

anywho - any fans or live album recommendations?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZK8TnDIe2w

[Guest HerculesCzar]

I enjoy Chet Baker but I've never dove too deep into his catalogue so I don't know whether I could show you anything you don't already know about. The best live album of his I've heard is Live in New York. My favorite version of Solar starts at 7:50

 

Also, I really love this recording:

 

Have you ever checked out his memoir? Interesting stuff.

[TRiP]

sweet tracks

 

I had not heard of his memoirs - thanks for noting

 

I enjoy his old 50's stuff 'Chet Baker signs' etc. but more interested in his later period when he got his career back on track and started getting more beautifully morose

[Guest HerculesCzar]

Gotcha. I don't know too much about his stuff from that period. Have you ever checked out much Art Pepper? He was a saxophonist who was part of the same scene as Chet Baker (the two even did some recordings together) and his career had a similar arc. He spent about a decade in and out of prison for heroin possession and then came back onto the scene with a totally changed style and aesthetic. I've encountered a lot of people who say that late-career Art Pepper is his best stuff. It's definitely worth checking out and reminds me of the late Chet Baker vibe. They both seem like dudes who've "seen it." Super heavy stuff from both of them.

 

Before prison:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwlcgkhuxv4&feature=related

 

After:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPn7TERvg0Q&feature=related

 

Sorry if this is stuff you already know! Here's a cool documentary about his later career if you ever want check him out some more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb9zxNEc8uQ

[TRiP]

ooo very interesting - i must look into him. Thanks for the heads up.

 

funny they both did 'my funny valentine'

 

did he ever sing? One of the charms with chet is you got that tragic feeling from his soft deteriorating voice which defined his much just as much as the equal sad sounds of his trumpet

[Guest HerculesCzar]

As far as I know, he never did any singing.

 

This has got me really excited to check out some 70s and 80s Chet. I'll have to give that documentary a watch!