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Chet Baker

Musician
Forfans of jazz (especially cool jazz), trumpet aficionados, listeners who appreciate melancholic vocals and intimate recordings.
10 Reviews 12 Definitions 119 Charts
Jazz Cool Jazz

The Profile

American jazz trumpeter and vocalist (1929–1988), a leading figure in cool jazz. Known for a lyrical, intimate trumpet sound and fragile singing. He struggled with heroin addiction and died in Amsterdam on May 13, 1988 after falling from a hotel window.

Born October 23, 1929. Worked with Gerry Mulligan early in his career. Recorded both instrumental and vocal albums (notably Chet Baker Sings). Spent much of his late career performing and recording in Europe and collaborated with European musicians such as Enrico Pieranunzi and Paul Bley. Death on May 13, 1988 in Amsterdam is publicly documented.

Reviews emphasise Chet Baker's intimate, whisper-like trumpet and melancholic singing. Many pieces focus on his late European period, collaborations with European musicians, and recurring themes of addiction and decline. Albums reviewed range from vocal classics to late live and orchestral recordings.

Notable Quotes

❝ Chet Baker doesn't play the trumpet, he whispers it.
❝ Will the world be saved by beauty?, Dostoevsky asks in The Idiot. The answer can only be affirmative while listening to the wonderful "Diane" by Chet Baker, one of his best and most unknown albums ever (at least in Italy) and for me definitely the most beautiful and moving.
❝ "I'd like to laugh but nothing seems funny, now my world is a faded pastel."
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