One of Chet Baker's best albums of the mid 60s – a tribute to Billie Holiday, one that has him both singing and playing, with a hip group that includes Hank Jones, Richard Davis, Seldon Powell, and Connie Kay. The format is quite nice, with arrangements by Jimmy Mundy that have just the right amount of darkness for the material, yet which also have a slightly whimsical touch that makes the record a lot more than just a straight tribute album. Titles include "There Is No Greater Love", "Easy Living", "Travelin' Light", and others associated with the late, great one. CD

A lost Chet Baker session from the late 70s! This one was recorded in Paris in 1978 – and it's a wonderfully laidback set that has Chet blowing with a group that features Phil Markowitz on piano, JF Jenny-Clarke on bass, and Jeff Brillinger on drums. The tone of the tracks is very even-keeled – and Chet's tone and phrasing are some of his best for the 70s, more open ended than on earlier sessions, in a lyrical contemplative way that's always fairly pleasing. Chet sings on one or two numbers – which is a bit chilling, given the deteriorated state of his palette at the time – and numbers include "Black Eyes", "Broken Wing", "How Deep Is The Ocean", and "Blue Gilles". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work – and believe it or not, a great big band album led by Chet Baker! Although Chet's mostly best known for his work in small groups, he's really shining here as the leader of a large ensemble that includes a mix of "cool" west coast players on horns – Bud Shank, Bill Perkins, Conte Candoli, and others – plus more hard bop-oriented players on rhythm – Lawrence Marable, Jimmy Bond, and the great Bobby Timmons – making a surprise appearance on piano! The combination makes for a real monster of an album – crackling with energy all the way through, and featuring some of Baker's hardest solos on wax! Tracks include "A Foggy Day", "Mythe", "Phil's Blues", and "Tenderly". 16 tracks in all. CD

An amazing package – filled with more Chet Baker than you might ever hope to find in one place – and a massively expanded look at his Paris recordings in the mid 50s! Although Baker's Barclay sides have been compiled on other CD sets before, this one's the first to offer up the full scope of the the recordings – 8 CDs worth of material recorded in Paris in 1955 and 1956 – in settings that include both small groups and larger ones! Players include some of the best pianists of the postwar French jazz scene – Rene Urtreger, Raymond Fol, Francy Boland, and Maurice Vander – and Baker's American accompanist, Richard Twardzik, also makes an appearance on a few key numbers! The package features 14 previously unreleased alternate takes, plus loads more alternates from other sets – and it comes with an 84 page, LP-sized, full color booklet. Titles include "Chik-Eta", "Once In A While", "Alone Together", "Rondette", "Mid-Forte", "Just Duo", "Re-Search", "Anticipated Blues", "Cheryl", "Tasty Pudding", "Mythe", "Not Too Slow", and "Exitus". CD

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A great no-nonsense session from Chet – blowing here with Russ Freeman on piano, blocking out backgrounds that work perfectly with the fragile tone of Chet's horn. The rest of the group features Carson Smith on bass and Larry Bunker on drums – and titles include "Bea's Flat", "Moon Love", "Happy Little Sunbeam", "No Ties", and "Band Aid". CD

Nice soundtrack to the now-legendary film by Bruce Weber that tracked Chet Baker during some of the last days of his life. The set's got a nice mix of vocal and instrumental tracks, with Chet in fine enough form at the time of the recording. Titles include "You're My Thrill", "Moon & Sand", "Zingaro", "My One & Only Love", and "Almost Blue". CD

A classic album of vocal tracks from Chet Baker – working here with a core group that features piano by Russ Freeman and flute by Bud Shank – plus additional arrangements on some tracks by the likes of Johnny Mandel, Marty Paich, and Frank Campo. The album's classic Chet all the way through – cool but fragile – summed up in the set's perfect take on the stone classic "Lets Get Lost" – plus titles that include "Just Friends", "Grey December", "I Remember You", "Long Ago & Far Away", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "I Wish I Knew", and "Daybreak". CD

Looking for classic Chet Baker vocal tracks? This is the stuff! 14 tracks of haunting vocals by a young Chet, sung with small groups from the LA scene, and featuring trumpet solos next to his vocals. Titles include "That Old Feeling", "Look For The Silver Lining", "There Will Be Another You", and "I Get Along Without You Very Well". Every track is great, and these are the original vocal recordings that put Chet on the map! LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the best collections of live Chet Baker material we've seen in a long time – a 2CD package that offers up tracks in relatively straight concert performance – one performance from the Tiffany Club in LA, the other from Storyville in Boston! Both sets date from 1954, and feature the same group – Chet on trumpet, Russ Freeman on piano, Carson Smith on bass, and Bob Neel on drums – all working with that tight sense of economy that made the Baker group one of the most striking in jazz at the time. Collection features 16 titles from the LA date and 19 from Boston – a whopping 35 tracks in all, with titles that include "Line For Lyons", "Lady Bird", "No Ties", "Out Of Nowhere", "A Dandy Line", "Frenesi", "Carson City Stage", "Maid In Mexico", "Band Aid", "Long Ago & Far Away", "Happy Little Sunbeam", and "Time After Time". CD

Long, open-ended later work from Chet Baker – the kind of album that still had him working out interesting ideas in his music! The group features Harold Danko on piano, Greg Herbert on tenor, Ron Carter on bass, and Mel Lewis on drums – on cuts that include "ESP", "Shifting Down", "Tidal Breeze", and "Once Upon A Summertime". LP, Vinyl record album

With Herbie Mann on flute and tenor, Zoot Sims on alto and tenor, Pepper Adams on baritone, and even some piano from Bill Evans! LP, Vinyl record album

A great return to form for Chet Baker – his first record in a number of years away from the studio, and proof that his genius could adapt to just about any setting! The album's got a tight focus that's probably one of the keys to its success – a set of arrangements by Don Sebesky that mix lusher moments with some more tightly snapping rhythms – a blend that allows Chet to display the full range of his talents without veering too far in one direction. Paul Desmond plays some great alto on the record, really bringing in a strong sense of crispness to a few numbers – and instrumentation also includes great electric piano from Bob James, vibes from Dave Friedman, and flute from Hubert Laws. Baker sings on a few numbers, and titles include "Autumn Leaves", "She Was Too Good To Me", "Funk In Deep Freeze", "Tangerine", "With A Song In My Heart", "What'll I Do", and "It's You Or No One". LP, Vinyl record album

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A sharp-edged session of tremendous trumpet and tenor interplay – served up by the legendary quintet of Gianni Basso and Oscar Valdambrini! The album's got a sound that's as hip as it looks – a great approach to 50s modern jazz, done in a style that's equally influenced by west coast cool and east coast hardbop! Valdambrini's trumpet is beautifully measured throughout – with echoes of both Kenny Dorham and Chet Baker – offset by some deeper grooving on tenor from Basso, who plays with a strength and command that few American players of the time could match. Titles include "Come Out Wherever You Are", "Lo Struzzo Oscar", "Lotar", "Gone With The Wind", "Parlami D'Amore Mariu", and "Fan Tan". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual little session for Kenny Dorham – one in which he sings as well as plays trumpet – perhaps taking a page out of Chet Baker's book, but with a completely different approach! The group features Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, Sam Jones, and Charlie Persip on drums – who is replaced by GT Hogan on a couple of numbers. The set's all standards, and Kenny's style is nicely raspy – not the best technically, but with some surprisingly gentle feeling that's a nice complement to his work on trumpet. Includes "Autumn Leaves", "Since I Fell For You", "From This Moment On", "This Is The Moment", "Angel Eyes", and "Golden Earrings". CD

Gerry's second 10" album for the Pacific Jazz label – and almost as groundbreaking as the first! Not only is the quartet with Chet Baker featured strongly on side 1 – with classics that include "Cherry", "Carson City Stage", and "Motel" – but Lee Konitz joins the group on side two, cutting things up with his angular alto sax – a sound that's beautifully placed next to the poised horns of Mulligan and Baker, in a way that really gives the record even more life! Titles on that side include "Sextet", "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me", "Lover Man", and "Lady Be Good". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal session from Gerry Mulligan – one of his 50s quartet recordings with Chet Baker, in a group that also includes Carson Smith on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. The pianoless quartet grooves nicely in a twin-horn frontline – gliding effortlessly through tunes that include "I May Be Wrong", "Jeru", "Swinghouse", "Darn That Dream", and "Love Me Or Leave Me". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few rare vocal sessions recorded by Buddy Rich – and a surprisingly swinging album that makes us wonder why he didn't record more like this! Arrangements are by Buddy Bregman, who was always the great man at Verve for backing less-confident singers – and unlike other Buddy Rich vocal records, which have a mostly gentle, almost Chet Baker-like quality, this one's got a lot more punch and some of the dynamism you'd expect from Rich's fame in jazz! Overall, there's a bit of a short dynamic range to Buddy's singing – but he more than makes up for that with a slightly earthy quality that we really like – a mode that clearly has him wanting to sing, pushing his voice, and bringing a sense of earnestness to these tunes that we really like. Titles include "Day In Day Out", "Goody Goody", "Out Of This World", "One For My Baby", "Fools Rush In", "Dream", and "Travlin Light". LP, Vinyl record album

The alto of Bud Shank gets some fuller backings from the great Bob Florence – all in a mode that's as groovy as you might expect from the title – and which also features a bit of guest work from Chet Baker as well! The sound's nice and buoyant – swinging, but never too over the top in a big band way – leaving Bud some great space to blow with a bit of strength, even if the tracks are relatively short – packing in plenty in a small space, and using his alto sax with a deftness, and sense of feeling we really love! Titles include "Imprevu", "Husbands & Wives", "Woman", "Gotta Go", and "In Times Like These". CD

Pow is right – as Stitt grooves with a tight combo that features Benny Green on trombone, Kirk Lightsey on piano, Herman Wright on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums. The album's one of a few sides produced in the mid 60s by Richard Carpenter, a jazz manager/impresario who cut Chet Baker on some sides with the same group, licensed them to Prestige briefly, then pulled the material. Carpenter had also licensed this Stitt session to Roulette, but it's much more fitting of Prestige – as the tracks are longer and more open-ended, with a tighter hardbop approach than some of Stitt's Roulette/Roost work. Titles include "Love On The Rocks", "Nuff Guff", "Scramble", "Up & Over", and "Pride & Passion". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Chet Baker's famous, and famously short-lived pianist! Chet Baker joins the group on one track – and the core trio features Carson Smith on bass and Peter Littman on drums. Original tunes include "Albuquerque Social Swim", "Yellow Tango", "Crutch For The Crab", and "The Girl From Greenland". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic Art Pepper material, recorded in one of his comeback periods, and featuring the famous Richard Claxton photo of Art Holding his horn next to a tree. There's several different lineups featured, with a coupl of quintet and quartet sides, and a few with larger horn section, and the sidemen are the cream of the West coast jazz crop, including Bud Shank, Chet Baker, Curtis Counce, Leroy Vinnegar, Mel Lewis, Stan Levey and Lawrence Marable. 9 numbers in all, with rousing takes on standards like "What Is This Thing Called Love" and "A Foggy Day" and Pepper originals "Diane A Flow", "Zenobia", and "Powder Puff". CD

The first-ever album on Pacific Jazz – and a real doozy too! The record's something of a blueprint for west coast jazz of the 50s – and features Mulligan in a pianoless quartet with Chet Baker on trumpet, Chico Hamilton on drums, and Bob Whitlock on bass – running through tunes that have a fluidly grooving approach and a masterful sense of economy, one that's emphasized even more on the shortness of the 10" LP – a nice change from some of those overstuffed Mulligan CDs that sometimes get us a bit lost in the 20-plus tracklist! Titles include classics "Freeway", "Walkin Shoes", "Bernie's Tune", "Nights At The Turntable", and "Soft Shoe". LP, Vinyl record album

3 great CTI records from Jim Hall – including work with Art Farmer, Chet Baker & Hubert Laws – in a great 2CD set! Concierto is one Hall's most compelling albums from the 70s – a mix of lightly swinging tunes and more complicated numbers, recorded with some of his best partners from earlier years! Chet Baker is on trumpet, Paul Desmond is on alto sax – and the rest of the group includes Ron Carter bass, Roland Hanna piano, and Steve Gadd on drums. The centerpiece of the album is the 19 minute long "Concierto De Aranjuez", and other tracks include "The Answer Is Yes", "Two's Blues" and 5 bonus tracks including "Rock Skippin'", "Unfinished Business" plus a few alternate takes of album tracks. Big Blues is sweet and subtle genius from Art Farmer and Jim Hall – in a quintet with vibes by Mike Mainieri – in a style that eschews the electric funk of other CTI records, but has a similar sense of space, sound, and rhythm overall – proof that the label's groundbreaking approach didn't always have to be electrified! Tracks are quite long, and the two leaders effortlessly craft notes that magically hang in space with an airily soulful feel. Titles include wonderfully reworked versions of "Whisper Not", "A Child Is Born", and "Pavane For A Dead Princess". Studio Trieste is great later date with Chet Baker & Hubert Laws! The session's a larger group effort headed up by Don Sebesky, and featuring key solos by Chet Baker, Jim Hall, and Hubert Laws – all of whom get plenty of room to do their thing on the album's longer tracks! Other players include Kenny Barron, Jack Wilkins, Jorge Dalto, George Mraz, and Steve Gadd – plus bit of added percussion – and although the group is large, the overall sound is relatively lean – spacious and airy, in keeping with Baker's best moments on records like these, and always sensitive enough to let Hall's gentle work on the strings of his guitar shine through nicely! Titles include "Malaguena", "Django", "Swan Lake", and "All Blues". CD

Bessie Smith by LaVern Baker – a great blend of modes that really comes off great! Instead of sounding like a throwback blues album, the set comes across with a nice degree of contemporary class – thanks in part to a jazzy presentation that's a bit different than some of Baker's other music of the time – and which sports reeds from Sahib Shihab, tenor from Paul Quinichette, trumpet from Buck Clayton, and trombone from Jimmy Cleveland! Baker's voice is in fine form in this comfortable setting – and really works magic with tracks that include "After You've Gone", "Preaching The Blues", "Empty Bed Blues", "Back Water Blues", and "Gimme A Pigfoot". CD