Diving back to 1954 this weekend for a set by The Chet Baker Quartet, recorded at Storyville on March 16, 1954.
Digging through photos for this post the thing that struck me was how much of a pop icon he became with the hip-cool aura he projected. How that landed with Jazz purists is probably up for endless debate, but my suspicion is that it did wonders for Jazz reaching a wider audience which made it possible for people who normally wouldn’t, be prompted to dig around and make their own discoveries.
Chet Baker’s quartet released popular albums between 1953 and 1956. Baker won reader’s polls at Metronome and DownBeat magazines, beating trumpeters Miles Davis and Clifford Brown. In 1954, readers named Baker the top jazz vocalist. In 1954, Pacific Jazz Records released Chet Baker Sings, an album that both increased his visibility and drew criticism. Nevertheless, Baker continued to sing throughout the rest of his career.
Baker, with his youthful, chiseled looks oft-photographed by William Claxton, and his cool demeanor that evoked breezy California playboy living, became somewhat of a teen idol on top of being a respected, up-and-coming jazz musician. Hollywood studios saw movie star potential in Baker, and he made his acting debut in the film Hell’s Horizon in the fall of 1955. Baker declined a studio contract, preferring life on the road as a musician.
Over the next few years, he led his own combos, including a 1955 quintet with Francy Boland where Baker combined trumpet-playing and singing. In September 1955, he left for Europe for the first time, completing an eight-month tour and recording for the Barclay label that October. Some of these sessions were released in the United States as Chet Baker in Europe. While there, he also recorded a rare accompaniment for another vocalist: Caterina Valente playing guitar and singing “I’ll Remember April” and “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”.
Here’s a taste of Chet Baker from his gig at Storyville, recorded on March 16, 1954 for Voice Of America.
