Chet Baker

This video discusses the trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker. Let's take a look at two pictures of Chet Baker, this first one from 1954 at the age of 25, and the second one from 1988 at the age of 58, just before his death.

Many people describe Chet Baker's music as fragile. And certainly you can kind of see the fragility and the transitions that he went through during his life. He was also sometimes referred to as the "James Dean" of jazz. James Dean was an American actor that was regarded as a handsome young rebel in the 1950s. Baker's and Dean's looks are strikingly similar, as well as some aspects of their personality.

Musically, Chet Baker was a natural musician. He had little instruction and rarely practiced, which infuriated some of his colleagues. He had a beautiful, lyrical sound on the trumpet and in his singing-- a very melodic approach to improvisation.

We've already compared Baker's sound to that of Lee Morgan's, as Baker was the trumpet player we listened to in the video when we were comparing and hearing the difference between Hard Bop and Cool jazz.

Baker was focused on melody and less concerned about chord changes, if he was concerned at all. He said in an interview near the end of his life that, "Well, I can't read chord sequences. I can play a melody line that is written down for the trumpet of single notes. But chord symbols tell me nothing. The only instruction I had was in junior high school."

So Chet Baker-- a natural, remarkable musician. The first thing we're going to listen to from Chet Baker is an album he did with the baritone saxophone player, Gerry Mulligan. Gerry Mulligan actually played baritone saxophone in the "Birth of the Cool" band. And they had a quartet together, Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker.

This album was recorded in 1952. The title of the song is "Walkin' Shoes." Notice that there's no piano on this record, no guitar, no comping. The drums use brushes throughout the excerpt. They play with very few accents.

So you hear just a little piece of the baritone saxophone solo, a couple of seconds at the beginning of this clip. And then Chet Baker takes over and plays a lyrical, melodic, improvised solo.

Mulligan stays in the musical picture by playing some very soft background notes. It's almost as if Mulligan is taking the place of the comping of the piano. But he plays with a very thin texture so it doesn't get in the way of the relaxed nature of the music.

Here's "Walkin' Shoes:"

[MUSIC PLAYING: "WALKIN' SHOES” (r. 1952) 1:55-2:14]

When I hear that music, I think about the West Coast nature of jazz. I think about that ocean, those gentle breezes. It fits that imagery perfectly.

As a vocalist, Baker had a soft and delicate and serene, and some would say a limpid voice. His singing increased his popularity. But it alienated Baker from some jazz fans, who thought that he should continue simply playing the trumpet. We're going to listen to some of his singing anyway.

Here's a song called "But Not For Me," written by George Gershwin, from an album named "Chet Baker Sings," from 1954. Once again, the drums are using brushes throughout, so the rhythm section is very passive.

We're going to focus on the sound of his voice. It's rather unusual.

[MUSIC PLAYING: "BUT NOT FOR ME" (r. 1954) :35-:57]

[CHET BAKER: They're writing songs of love, but not for me. A lucky star's above, but not for me. With love to lead the way, I've found more clouds of grey than any Russian play could guaran.. ]

So that sound is so beautiful. And there's such a similarity between the sound of his singing and the sound of his trumpet playing. It's as if the trumpet was just a natural extension of his voice.

Our second example of his singing is on a ballad. We haven't heard too many ballads in the course. This is a fantastic ballad called "My Funny Valentine," a jazz standard. It starts with just the voice and the bass. And you get a sense of sort of the loneliness, the serenity, and maybe the loneliness of Chet Baker in this one.

[MUSIC PLAYING: "MY FUNNY VALENTINE" (r. 1954) :00-:33]

[CHET BAKER: My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine. You make me smile with my heart. Your looks are laughable...]

You might notice sort of the fragility in his voice and the intimate nature of that music, and maybe a hint of some of the pain and torture he felt throughout his life.

Chet Baker had struggles with drug addiction for much of his life. And he had an untimely death at age 58. He fell from a hotel window in Amsterdam. We're not sure if he fell or if he was pushed. It was sort of mysterious circumstances. But unfortunately, that fall ended his life.

There's a great documentary about Chet Baker called "Let's Get Lost," if you want to know more about his life, that chronicles both his popularity in the '50s and then some of his struggles later in his life.

There are some other great albums to listen to, as well. One called "She Was Too Good To Me," from 1974. And then a couple near the end of his life, where you can really hear some of the pain he was going through at that time, "Chet Baker in Tokyo," recorded in 1987. And "My Favorite Songs: The Last Great Concert," recorded in 1988.

In the next video, we'll listen to how Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond teamed up to make a great record. And then we'll talk about Stan Getz and the bossa nova craze.