BAKER, Chet Archives - Guerssen Records

Live In Bologna

GuerssenAdmin — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 23:00:00 +0000

Rare gem capturing the poetry and magic of the legendary Chet Baker live on stage. Here Chet is in Italy on April 1962, at “La Cantina” in Bologna. Miles is on the trumpet, of course, along with Rene Thomas at the Guitar, George Gruntz at the Piano, the great Karl Theodor Geier on the Bass and Eberhard Stengel on the drums. The entirety of the Side A is taken by a long Miles Davis composition, “Solar”, while the B Side features a much celebrated, timeless standard in “Pennies From Heaven” and Bird’s original in “Donna Lee”.

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Chet’s Choice (Gatefold)

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Recorded and released in The Netherlands by Gerry Teekens for his Criss Cross label in 1985, Chet’s Choice marked one of the best studio albums from Chet Baker’s final years. It presents Baker, beautifully captured in Stereo, singing and playing the trumpet in an intimate trio format with guitarist Philip Catherine and bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse.
This expanded edition presents the full seven tunes from the original album plus three songs that only previously appeared on the CD edition of Chet’s Choice, as well as five amazing never before heard alternate takes.

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Broken Wing

GuerssenAdmin — Mon, 27 May 2024 22:00:00 +0000

Recorded in Paris in December 1978, Broken Wing is beautiful proof that Baker’s playing remained undiminished in the face of ongoing personal challenges. There is wonderful musical chemistry between Baker and his ensemble members throughout this excellent and rare LP, namely pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Jean-François Jenny-Clark and drummer Jeff Brillinger, yielding exceptional versions of Richie Beirach’s title track and Wayne Shorter’s ‘Black Eyes,’ as well as Baker’s ‘Blue Gilles’; he’s on top form on the trumpet and tackles the vocal of ‘Oh You Crazy Moon’ with gracefulness. Another great offering from Chet!

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In New York (Clear)

GuerssenAdmin — Mon, 27 May 2024 22:00:00 +0000

His first for Riverside, In New York saw Chet Baker bring the West Coast cool jazz style to new Manhattan surroundings. With the rhythm section of Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones keeping things up-tempo and propulsive, pianist Al Haig alternating between fill-in chords and intriguing melodies and saxophonist Johnny Giffin trading lead flourishes with Baker himself, the LP is another winner right through. The swinging bop is full of zest and verve on ‘Hotel 49′ and a one-off rendition of Miles’ ‘Solar,’ while some contrasting introspective breaks are provided by ‘Blue Thoughts’ and ‘Polka Dots And Moonbeams.’ Great stuff!

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