Chet Baker: New York, 1964

By 1964, Chet Baker was damaged goods. The '50s had been a series of ego flights and emotional letdowns for the trumpeter. The vulnerable and naturally pretty look he had coolly projected at the start of the decade was lifted by Hollywood in the form of James Dean and Montgomery Clift. By 1958, Baker's sensitive-victim look was out, replaced by tough guys like Marlon Brando, Paul Newman and Burt Lancaster. Even jazz on the West Coast had lifted much of his moody, melodic style. Baker's temperament and disposition weren't helped by his drug addiction in the early '50s, which set Baker on a life-long crash course.

In late 1959 and 1960, Baker toured Italy and the rest of Europe, a trip that once again fired-up his ego. But his new-found fame and movie stardom led to cockiness and, eventually, to an arrest for drug smuggling and forgery. The result was two years in an Italian prison (he had been sentenced to three).

Upon his release in 1962, Baker began touring Europe again, recording extensively in Italy. After exhausting all commercial possibilities there and likely eager to resume his drug habit without having to wheedle pills in Europe and risk a longer prison stretch, Baker returned to the U.S. in 1964, winding up first in New York.

Upon his return, Baker recorded The Most Important Jazz Album of 1964-65 for Colpix, his first U.S. studio date in five years. On the session, Baker played flugelhorn and sang on two tracks. The results were sublime. He was joined on the date by Phil Urso (ts,cl), Hal Galper (p), Jymie Merritt (b) and Charlie Rice (d). Many of the arrangements were by Tadd Dameron and Jimmy Mundy.

What makes this recording special is Baker's lyricism and musical maturity on pure jazz songs. His solos, phrasing and intonation are all deeply profound, while his ideas are clear and mellow. How he managed to retain such beauty and clarity given his reckless self-abuse is baffling.

By taking on serious works like Dameron's [pictured above] Soultrane, Tadd's Delight, Gnid, Mating Call and Whatever Possessed Me, Baker displays enormous tenderness and sensitivity for the material. He even delivers a vocal on Walkin'—lyrics by Quincy Jones:

Love is quite the joker

He likes to have his fun

He sets you down in clover

Till he wins you over

Then suddlenly leaves you flat

Just like that, here's your hat

Start walkin'

For some reason, Phil Urso [pictured above] never received the proper amount of credit for being a perfect musical foil for Baker's sound. Urso could swing smartly, and his lines and tone were gritty, hefty and tasteful. Unfortunately, the pair also were heroin-mates, visiting 157th St. in Harlem together often to score.

Pianist Galper is another forgotten artist of great merit, contributing two originals—Retsim B. (for Baker, not Billy Eckstine) and Margarine. On Whatever Possessed Me, we hear Urso play clarinet while Baker sings. Positively gorgeous.

Jimmy Mundy, in addition to arranging Gnid and Soultrane also scored Duke Jordan's Flight to Jordan and Ann, Wonderful One.

When this album was recorded in May 1964, Baker was an emotional, drug-dependent wreck, already at the start of his long decline of no return. But during the months that preceded this session, his playing was among his finest jazz works from a patient, expressive standpoint.

There really isn't a bad note or throwaway line on his 1964 album, and Baker's tone is pure honey. How this was possible given his emotional state will always remain one of life's great mysteries.

JazzWax tracks: You can find Chet Baker's The Most Important Jazz Album of 1964-65 at Amazon.

JazzWax notes: James Gavin's distinct and haunting biography of Chet Baker, Deep in a Dream, can be found here.

My interview with Phil Urso's brother, Joe, can be found here.

Jazzwax clip: Here's Chet Baker playing Tadd's Delight. Dig Phil Urso's Coltrane-esque solo, setting up Baker's tender reading...

 

Comments

[Dmitri Matheny]

Marc,

It's so satisfying to read this thoughtful, articulate assessment of Chet's best work. Love your blog!

~Dmitri

[Larry Kart]

Baker's supposed "long decline of no return" is a canard IMO and also in that of his so far only reliable biographer Jeroen De Valk, author of "Chet Baker His Life and Music." (James Gavin's Baker bio "Deep in a Dream" is often a crock.) In particular, de Valk makes a strong case (and I agree) that Baker's best recordings were made after he returned to Europe in the late 1970s; while there are duds there, due to physical failings and some less than ideal bands, the ratio of successes is quite high. In any case, the recoded evidence is available. I'd suggest Baker's Steeplechase ("This Is Always," "Someday My Prince Will Come," "Daybreak," "The Touch of Your Lips") and Criss Cross ("Chet's Choice") label recordings. Best of all perhaps are the double CD "Chet Baker in Tokyo" (Evidence) from 1987 and last year's dpuble CD "Chet Baker, The Sesjun Radio Shows" (Out of the Blue), from 1976-'85.

[Dave James]

Agree with Larry's nomination of "In Tokyo". Two CD's crowded with some of Chet's best playing ever, including his take on Elvis Costello's "Almost Blue". I'm also partial to a more obscure recording on Red Records from 1983 called "Live at Capolinea". It features a jaw dropping 11+ minute version of the Bruno Martino classic, "Estate".

[David]

I have no idea about Whitlock's possible roll in encouraging Chet's bad habits, but much of the material in Gavin's book appears to be unsubstantiated rumor.
I agree with Larry and Dave about Chet's late recordings. I'd also recommend a 2003 album on which Phil Urso reprises many of the numbers he recorded with Chet called "Phil Urso and Carl Saunders Salute Chet Baker." Of course Carl sounds more like Fagerquist than Baker, but it's a fine album with a Colorado rhythm section that had probably been working with Phil.

[Red Sullivan]

...and another at the absolute peak is "Live at The Moonlight" on Philology. I think it's mid-'80s, an Italian club. This one, very particularly, for me is the most inspired Baker ever. Check his "How Deep Is The Ocean" solo.
Another great moment is his 1985 duo record with Paul Bley, "Dianne", on SteepleChase. Sublime record. Really.

[Larry Kart]

Yes, "Dianne" is sublime. Momentarily forgot about that one.

[Doug Zielke]

Mr. Kart knows his Chet. I have all the recordings he mentions, and they are uniformly wonderful.

And... a sucker for jazz bios, I bought the Gavin book when it first came out. What a waste of money!

[Brew]

Opposed to your appraisal of Chet's flugelhorn playing, Marc, I do think that the trumpet was the more appropriate tool for his expressive, too often as "cool" mislabeled sound.

Chet could burn the house when in good spirits. I'd strongly recommend some of his live CD's (1950's) which surfaced in the 1990's.

I love (and have) all the albums, mentioned by Larry: Also here, he live tracks are best. -- On "Live At The Moonlight", and also on "Diane" (both recorded in 1985), Chet's trumpet sound is "not from this world" anymore; it is as direct as his singing voice; nothing seems to stand between Chet's gaunt body and the horn.

All lines are naturally flowing out of the bell. Pure magic!

[Bill Kirchner]

I heard Chet live 5-6 times in the '70s and '80s, and he was dazzling. The irony was that the worse he looked, the better he played.

On one of those occasions, he was playing flugelhorn (borrowed from Joe Shepley) in a short-lived quintet with tenor saxophonist Sal Nistico. They played difficult, seldom-performed bop tunes like "Deception," and there was no lack of heat.

Let me add to the list of superior late-Baker recordings "Once Upon a Summertime" (OJC, 1977), with Gregory Herbert, Harold Danko, Ron Carter, and Mel Lewis. It also was Gregory's (a great, now-forgotten tenor saxophonist who died young in 1978) own favorite of his too-few recordings.

[dan]

the most important album is on spotify

spotify:track:7i4fuyMr9zidPkJ6ILTaqE