Chet Baker Sings

Last updated
Chet Baker Sings
Chet Baker Sings.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril/May 1954 [1]
RecordedFebruary 15, 1954
Genre West Coast jazz, cool jazz, vocal jazz
Length43:55 LP/CD reissue
Label Pacific Jazz
Producer Richard Bock
Chet Baker chronology
Witch Doctor
(1953)
Chet Baker Sings
(1954)
Grey December
(1953–55)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]

Chet Baker Sings is the debut vocal album by jazz musician Chet Baker, released in 1954 by Pacific Jazz Records. In 2001, the album received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award. [4] Baker would return to selections from this album throughout his career. "My Funny Valentine" was regularly included in his concert performances, and is considered by some to be his signature song.

Contents

Background

Until this album, Baker was almost exclusively an instrumentalist. His mother had loved his singing voice and asked him for years to sing more. He eventually sang on two tracks in October 1953: "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "The Thrill is Gone". Baker then requested to record a full album of his singing, to the skepticism of his producer Dick Bock. [5]

He recorded this album in Hollywood. Russ Freeman selected several of the songs for Baker to sing. According to James Gavin, Bock was alarmed as Baker struggled to sing in key, and he reportedly had to make numerous takes on every song. Despite this, Baker remained persistent, to the chagrin of the background musicians. Freeman later said, "I thought it was bullshit. Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden sang like jazz singers. This was ballads[ sic ]. Totally meaningless." [6]

Baker's later wife Ruth Young said of his singing: [7]

None of these songs had any meaning for him, truly. He could have been singing Charmin commercials. He was coming from a musical place, and the words were mere notes to him.

Track listing

Original LP (Pacific PJLP-11)

Side one:

  1. "But Not for Me" – 3:04
  2. "Time After Time" – 2:46
  3. "My Funny Valentine" – 2:21
  4. "I Fall in Love Too Easily" – 3:21

Side two:

  1. "There Will Never Be Another You" – 3:00
  2. "I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)" – 2:59
  3. "The Thrill Is Gone" – 2:51
  4. "Look for the Silver Lining" – 2:39

1956 LP reissue (Pacific PJ-1222)

This issue features additional tracks 1–6, which were recorded on July 23 and 30, 1956.

Personnel

Production

Critical reception

The reception towards the album, and Baker's singing voice in general, was highly polarized around the album's release. [10]

Critics called his voice "fey" and "effete". A biographer for Baker described his voice as "androgynously sweet" and "fragile". [10] The perception of his voice conflicted with the social standards of the era, where gender roles were rigid and homophobia was rampant. It also conflicted with the macho stereotypes of male jazz singers, with examples of Billy Eckstine and Louis Armstrong. Baker later said in 1973: [10]

"There was a very mixed reaction when I started singing. In the first place, a lot of people thought — foolishly so — that because of the way I sang, I, y'know, liked fellars[ sic ] or something. I can only say that that's a lot of bullshit."

According to James Gavin, Baker tried to counteract this by emphasizing his masculinity. He talked frequently about cars and the women in his life, and was known to use the homophobic slur "faggot". [11] Despite Baker's intentions, according to James Gavin, the album made Baker the first jazz musician with a "strong homosexual following". The singer-songwriter Cherry Vanilla claimed the album was a hit in the gay community. She said "All the gay boys who were into jazz at all were into him." [10]

Some critics commented on Baker's singing ability, regardless of its perceived gendered qualities. In Metronome , Mimi Clar Melnick criticized Baker's "abysmal vocal deficiencies", and compared his singing to "a four-month-old baby's lack of coordination because he can't walk". [11]

Despite these criticisms, the album was a financial success. In 1956, Bock expanded the album to 14 tracks and a 12 inch rerelease. The additional six tracks were recorded at the Forum Theatre in Los Angeles. The only returning musician on the recording was Russ Freeman; Jimmy Bond played bass, Peter Littman and Lawrence Marable played the drums. [9]

It was also a significant boost to Baker's fame. It was highly popular amongst women; Dick Bock conducted a Pacific Jazz Records marketing survey in 1955, and found that most of Baker's fans were women who wanted to hear him sing. [12] In the year of the album's release, audience polls in DownBeat Magazine's named him the best trumpeter and best vocalist, above Miles Davis and Nat King Cole respectively. Afterwards, Charlie Parker told Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, "You better watch out... There's a little white cat out in California that's gonna eat you up." [13] Soon afterwards, Baker was cast for a part in the film Hell's Horizon . [14]

Legacy

The album has since become Baker's consistent best seller and one of his most famous. [15] Its success led to a sequel in the next year, Chet Baker Sings and Plays . [16]

A number of later musicians have mentioned the album as a source of inspiration. In 2022, singer-songwriter Amos Lee made his own cover of "My Funny Valentine" that was directly inspired by the cover on the album and released the covers album My Ideal: A Tribute to Chet Baker Sings. [17]

It was a significant inspiration to the bossa nova genre of music and Brazilian music as a whole. It inspired Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, Nara Leão, Oscar Castro-Neves, and João Gilberto. In particular, Gilberto took direct inspiration from Baker's cover of "Like Someone in Love", and produced his own cover of the song. When Baker later performed in Brazil in August 1980, he was reportedly unaware and surprised that his album had made such an impact there. [18]

In 2016, it was reported that original 1954 10" pressings and 1956 Pacific Jazz LP pressings of the album sold for between $50 and $200. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerry Mulligan</span> American jazz musician (1927–1996)

Gerald Joseph Mulligan, also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz—Mulligan was also a significant arranger working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, and others. His piano-less quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the best cool jazz ensembles. Mulligan was also a skilled pianist and played several other reed instruments. Several of his compositions including "Walkin' Shoes" and "Five Brothers", have become standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chet Baker</span> American jazz musician (1929–1988)

Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carson Smith (musician)</span> American jazz double-bassist

Carson Raymond Smith was an American jazz double-bassist. Carson is the older brother of jazz musician and composer Putter Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russ Freeman (pianist)</span> American jazz pianist and composer (1926–2002)

Russell Donald Freeman was a bebop and cool jazz pianist and composer.

<i>Lets Get Lost</i> (1988 film) 1988 documentary film

Let's Get Lost is a 1988 American documentary film, written and directed by Bruce Weber, about the turbulent life and career of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, who died four months before the film's release. The title is derived from the song "Let's Get Lost" by Jimmy McHugh and Frank Loesser from the 1943 film Happy Go Lucky, which Baker recorded for Pacific Records.

David "Buck" Wheat was an American folk and jazz musician. The Texas-born Wheat was a guitarist and bass player with the dance bands of the era, playing at the Chicago Playboy Jazz Festival 1959 in The Playboy Jazz All Stars and the Chet Baker Trio. In the winter of 1957, he was a jazz guitarist with Baker's Trio. Though most of Baker's material was recorded in Los Angeles, "Embraceable You", "There's a Lull in My Life" and "My Funny Valentine" are rare examples of Baker recording in New York. The format is also unusual for him, just Baker's vocals accompanied by only Wheat on nylon string acoustic guitar and bassist Russ Savakus.

This article contains the discography of the American jazz trumpeter and singer Chet Baker. His most productive period was arguably for Pacific Records during the 1950s, which included his first vocal recordings.

<i>(Chet Baker Sings) It Could Happen to You</i> 1958 studio album by Chet Baker

(Chet Baker Sings) It Could Happen to You is an album by jazz trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker. It follows a formula similar to two other Baker albums, Chet Baker Sings (1954) and Chet Baker Sings and Plays with Bud Shank, Russ Freeman & Strings in which he sings traditional pop standards in a jazzy fashion. Unlike the aforementioned records, on It Could Happen to You, on a few tracks, Baker plays no trumpet whatsoever, opting to scat in place of an instrumental solo.

<i>Chet Baker Big Band</i> 1956 studio album by Chet Baker

Chet Baker Big Band is an album by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker recorded in 1956 and released on the Pacific Jazz label.

<i>Chet Baker Sings and Plays</i> 1955 studio album by Chet Baker

Chet Baker Sings and Plays is an album by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker recorded in 1955 for Barclay Records and released on the Pacific Jazz label.

<i>Jazz at Ann Arbor</i> 1955 live album by Chet Baker

Jazz at Ann Arbor is a live album by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker which was recorded at the Masonic Temple in 1954 and released on the Pacific Jazz label.

<i>The Trumpet Artistry of Chet Baker</i> 1955 compilation album by Chet Baker

The Trumpet Artistry of Chet Baker is an album by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker recorded in 1953 and 1954 and released on the Pacific Jazz label. The album compiles tracks previously released on the 1954 10 inch LP Chet Baker Sextet along with previously unissued recordings.

<i>Pretty/Groovy</i> 1958 compilation album by Chet Baker

Pretty/Groovy is an album by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker recorded in 1953 and 1954 and released on the World Pacific label in 1958. The album compiles tracks previously released on the 1953 10-inch LP Chet Baker Quartet featuring Russ Freeman along with previously unissued recordings.

<i>Quartet: Russ Freeman/Chet Baker</i> 1957 studio album by Russ Freeman and Chet Baker

Quartet: Russ Freeman/Chet Baker is an album by pianist Russ Freeman and trumpeter Chet Baker recorded in 1956 and released on the Pacific Jazz label early the following year.

<i>Grey December</i> (album) 1992 compilation album by Chet Baker

Grey December is an album by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker compiling sessions recorded in 1953 and 1955 which was released on the Pacific Jazz label in 1992. The album compiles tracks previously released on the 1954 10-inch LP Chet Baker Ensemble, the 7-inch EP Chet Baker – Sings And Plays With Bud Shank, Russ Freeman And Strings, along with previously unissued alternate takes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chetty's Lullaby</span>

"Chetty's Lullaby" is a 1962 jazz song composed by Chet Baker. The song was released as a single in 1962 in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motivo su raggio di luna</span> 1962 single by Chet Baker

"Motivo su raggio di luna" is a 1962 jazz song composed by Chet Baker. The song was released as a single in 1962 in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">So che ti perderò</span>

"So che ti perderò" or "I Know I Will Lose You" is a 1962 jazz song composed by Chet Baker. The song was released as a B side single in 1962 in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freeway (song)</span>

"Freeway" is a 1952 jazz song composed by Chet Baker and recorded with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet. The song was released as part of an LP album and an EP single in the U.S. and a 45 single in the UK and France in 1952.

<i>My Ideal: A Tribute to</i> Chet Baker Sings 2022 studio album by Amos Lee

My Ideal: A Tribute to Chet Baker Sings is a 2022 studio album by American musician Amos Lee, covering the 1954 album Chet Baker Sings.

References

  1. Billboard May 8, 1954
  2. Mason, Stewart. Chet Baker Sings at AllMusic
  3. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 65. ISBN   978-0-14-103401-0.
  4. "Grammy.com". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  5. Gavin (2011), pp. 84–85.
  6. Gavin (2011), pp. 85–86.
  7. Gavin (2011), pp. 86.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Barnett, Mark (2017-09-11). "Chet Baker: Chet Baker Sings album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Waring, Charles (2023-02-15). "'Chet Baker Sings': How The Cool Jazz Trumpeter Found His Voice". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Gavin (2011), pp. 86–87.
  11. 1 2 Gavin (2011), pp. 87.
  12. Gavin (2011), pp. 107–108.
  13. 1 2 ""Lost" Album of the Week: Chet Baker Sings". Vinyl Me, Please. 2016-02-24. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  14. Gavin (2011), pp. 108.
  15. Shipton, Alyn. "Chet Baker: The Making of Chet Baker Sings". Jazzwise. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  16. "Chet Baker – Chet Baker Sings and Plays LP (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)". Blue Note Records. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  17. Smith, Trevor (2022-11-21). "Singer-songwriter Amos Lee does a deep dive into the sound of Chet Baker's vocals". WBGO. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  18. Gavin (2011), pp. 319.

 Sources