Chet Baker started his career in the late forties. He become famous with the 'Gerry Mulligan' (qv) Quartet in 1952. His solo in "My funny valentine" is a classic of the west coast jazz in the fifties. When Mulligan was arrested in 1953, Chet let the group until 1955, when he went to Europe. He also sang on many records. In Europe he recorded with many musicians in different countries. His career was interrupted many times for personal problems with drugs and he was arrested many times for his addiction. In 1974 he come back to music after three years in obscurity, playing in a concert in Carnegie Hall with his old friend, 'Gerry Mulligan' (qv). After this he started a "new career", but his problems with drugs were continuous. His death today is a mystery, one possibilty is suicide but another says he was killed by trafficants in Amsterdam, Holland.
Coordinates | 56°09′″N40°25′″N |
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name | Chet Baker |
background | solo_singer |
birth name | Chesney Henry Baker, Jr. |
born | December 23, 1929Yale, Oklahoma, U.S. |
died | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
instrument | TrumpetVocalsFlugelhornPiano |
genre | West Coast Jazz |
occupation | TrumpeterJazz singer |
years active | 1949–1988 |
associated acts | Gerry MulliganArt Pepper |
notable instruments | }} |
Baker received some musical education at Glendale Junior High School, but left school at age 16 in 1946 to join the United States Army. He was posted to Berlin where he joined the 298th Army band. Leaving the army in 1948, he studied theory and harmony at El Camino College in Los Angeles. He dropped out in his second year, however, re-enlisting in the army in 1950. Baker once again obtained a discharge from the army to pursue a career as a professional musician. Baker became a member of the Sixth Army Band at the Presidio in San Francisco, but was soon spending time in San Francisco jazz clubs such as Bop City and the Black Hawk.
In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon. Several things made the Mulligan/Baker group special, the most prominent being the interplay between Mulligan's baritone sax and Baker's trumpet. Rather than playing identical melody lines in unison like bebop giants Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the two would complement each other's playing with contrapuntal touches, and it often seemed as if they had telepathy in anticipating what the other was going to play next. The Quartet's version of "My Funny Valentine", featuring a memorable Baker solo, was a major hit, and became a song with which Baker was intimately associated.
The Quartet found success quickly, but lasted less than a year because of Mulligan's arrest and imprisonment on drug charges. In 1953, Pacific Jazz released ''Chet Baker Sings'', a record that increased his profile but alienated traditional jazz fans; he would continue to sing throughout his career. Baker formed quartets with Russ Freeman in 1953-54 with bassists Carson Smith, Joe Mondragon, and Jimmy Bond and drummers Shelly Manne, Larry Bunker, and Bob Neel. The quartet was successful in their three live sets in 1954. In that year, Baker won the ''Downbeat'' Jazz Poll. Because of his chiseled features, Hollywood studios approached Baker and he made his acting debut in the film ''Hell's Horizon'', released in the fall of 1955. He declined an offer of a studio contract, preferring life on the road as a musician. Over the next few years, Baker fronted his own combos, including a 1955 quintet featuring Francy Boland, where Baker combined playing trumpet and singing. He became an icon of the West Coast "cool school" of jazz, helped by his good looks and singing talent. Baker's 1956 recording, released for the first time in its entirety in 1989 as ''The Route'', with Art Pepper helped further the West Coast jazz sound and became a staple of cool jazz.
In 1966, Baker was savagely beaten (allegedly while attempting to buy drugs) after a gig in San Francisco, sustaining severe cuts on the lips and broken front teeth, which ruined his embouchure. He stated in the film ''Let's Get Lost'' that an acquaintance attempted to rob him one night but backed off, only to return the next night with a group of several men who chased him. He landed finally in a car where he was surrounded. Instead of rescuing him, the people inside the car pushed him back out onto the street where the chase by his attackers continued, and subsequently, he was beaten to the point that his teeth, never in good condition to begin with, were knocked out, leaving him without the ability to play his horn. He took odd jobs, among them pumping gas. Meanwhile he was fitted for dentures and worked on his embouchure. Three months later he got a gig in New York.
Between 1966 and 1974, Baker mostly played flugelhorn and recorded music that could mostly be classified as West Coast Jazz.
From 1978 until his death, Baker resided and played almost exclusively in Europe, returning to the USA roughly once per year for a few performance dates. Baker's most prolific era as a recording artist was 1978-88. However, as his extensive output is strewn across numerous, mostly small European labels, none of these recordings ever reached a wider audience, even though many of them were well-received by critics, who maintain that the period was one of Baker's most mature and rewarding. Of particular importance are Baker's quartet featuring the pianist Phil Markowitz (1978–80) and his trio with guitarist Philip Catherine and bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse (1983–85). He also toured with saxophonist Stan Getz during this period.
In 1983, British singer Elvis Costello, a longtime fan of Baker, hired the trumpeter to play a solo on his song "Shipbuilding", from the album ''Punch the Clock''. The song was a top 40 hit in the UK, and exposed Baker's music to a new audience. Later, Baker often featured Costello's song "Almost Blue" (inspired by Baker's version of "The Thrill Is Gone") in his live sets, and recorded the song on ''Let's Get Lost'', a documentary film about his life.
The video material recorded by Japanese television during Baker's 1987 tour in Japan showed a man whose face looked much older than he was; but his trumpet playing was alert, lively and inspired. Fans and critics alike agree that the live album ''Chet Baker in Tokyo'', recorded less than a year before his death and released posthumously, ranks among Baker's very best. "Silent Nights", another critically acclaimed release, and Baker's only recording of Christmas music, was recorded with Christopher Mason in New Orleans in 1986 and released in 1987.
Chet Baker's compositions included "Chetty's Lullaby", "Freeway", "Early Morning Mood", "Two a Day", "So Che Ti Perderò" ("I Know I Will Lose You"), "Il Mio Domani" ("My Tomorrow"), "Motivo Su Raggio Di Luna" ("Tune on a Moon Beam"), "The Route", "Skidadidlin'", "New Morning Blues", "Blue Gilles", "Dessert", and "Anticipated Blues".
Baker's body was brought home for interment in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California. A plaque outside the Hotel Prins Hendrik now memorializes him.
Baker was immortalized by the photographer William Claxton in his book ''Young Chet: The Young Chet Baker''. An Academy Award-nominated 1988 documentary about Baker, ''Let's Get Lost'', portrays him as a cultural icon of the 1950s, but juxtaposes this with his later image as a drug addict. The film, directed by fashion photographer Bruce Weber, was shot in black-and-white and includes a series of interviews with friends, family (including his three children by third wife Carol Baker), associates and women friends, interspersed with film from Baker's earlier life, and with interviews with Baker from his last years.
''Time after Time: The Chet Baker Project'', written by playwright James O'Reilly, toured Canada in 2001 to much acclaim. The musical play ''Chet Baker - Speedball'', explores aspects of his life and music, and was premiered in London at the Oval House Theatre in February 2007, with further development of the script and performances leading to its revival at the 606 Club in the London Jazz Festival of November 2007.
Baker was reportedly the inspiration for the character Chad Bixby, played by Robert Wagner in the 1960 film ''All the Fine Young Cannibals''. Another film, to be titled ''Prince of Cool'', about Baker's life, was cancelled as of January 2008.
Category:1929 births Category:1988 deaths Category:Cool jazz musicians Category:Cool jazz trumpeters Category:American jazz singers Category:American jazz trumpeters Category:Musicians from Oklahoma Category:Accidental deaths in the Netherlands Category:Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Category:SteepleChase Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Enja Records artists Category:Prestige Records artists Category:Timeless Records artists Category:EmArcy Records artists Category:Verve Records artists Category:Galaxy Records artists Category:Riverside Records artists
ar:تشيت بيكر an:Chet Baker ca:Chet Baker cs:Chet Baker da:Chet Baker de:Chet Baker et:Chet Baker el:Τσετ Μπέικερ es:Chet Baker fa:چت بیکر fr:Chet Baker ko:쳇 베이커 io:Chet Baker id:Chet Baker it:Chet Baker he:צ'ט בייקר lb:Chet Baker lmo:Chet Baker nl:Chet Baker ja:チェット・ベイカー no:Chet Baker oc:Chet Baker pcd:Chet Baker pms:Chet Baker nds:Chet Baker pl:Chet Baker pt:Chet Baker ru:Бейкер, Чет sc:Chet Baker sr:Чет Бејкер fi:Chet Baker sv:Chet Baker tr:Chet BakerThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Coordinates | 56°09′″N40°25′″N |
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Name | Paul Desmond |
Background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
Birth name | Paul Emil Breitenfeld |
Alias | "The Stork" |
Birth date | November 25, 1924 |
Death date | May 30, 1977 |
Origin | San Francisco, California, United States |
Instrument | Alto saxophoneClarinet |
Genre | Cool jazzWest Coast jazzMainstream jazz |
Occupation | SaxophonistComposerArranger |
Label | Columbia RecordsRCA VictorHorizon RecordsCTI Records |
Associated acts | Dave BrubeckEd BickertGerry MulliganJim HallChet Baker |
Notable instruments | }} |
In addition to his work with Brubeck he led several of his own groups and did significant collaborations with artists such as Gerry Mulligan, Jim Hall and Chet Baker. After years of chain smoking and general poor health, Desmond succumbed to lung cancer in 1977 following one last tour with Brubeck.
He played clarinet at the age of twelve at San Francisco Polytechnic High. It was not until he became a freshman at San Francisco State College that he picked up the alto saxophone. In his freshman year he was drafted into the United States Army and joined the Army band while stationed in San Francisco. He spent three years in the military, but his unit was never called to combat.
The story of their encounter is somewhat humorous. Brubeck — married with three children and holding a grudge from his earlier experience with Desmond — instructed his wife Iola not to let him set foot in his house. But Desmond came to his home in San Francisco one day while Dave was out back hanging diapers on a laundry line, and Iola let him in and took him to Brubeck. Apparently all the begging in the world would not convince Brubeck to hire him, at least not until Desmond offered to babysit Brubeck's children.
Desmond had first met Dave Brubeck in 1944 while still in the military. Brubeck was trying out for the 253rd Army band which Desmond belonged to. After making the cut he—unlike Desmond—was sent to war in 1944. Desmond once told Marian McPartland of National Public Radio's ''Piano Jazz'' that he was taken aback by the chord changes Brubeck introduced during that 1944 audition. After convincing Brubeck to hire him following his stint with Jack Fina, the two had a contract drafted (of which Brubeck was the sole signatory); the language forbade Brubeck from ever firing him, ensured Brubeck's status as group leader, and gave Desmond twenty percent of all profits generated from the quartet.}} That is how the Dave Brubeck Quartet had its start, a group that began in 1951 and ended in December 1967. The quartet became especially popular with college-age audiences, often performing in college settings like on their 1953 album ''Jazz At Oberlin'' at Oberlin College or on their recordings on the campuses of Ohio University and the University of Michigan, among others. The success of the quartet led to a ''Time'' magazine piece on them in 1954, with the famous cover featuring Brubeck's face.
The group played until 1967, when Brubeck switched focus from music to composition and broke the unit up. During the 1970s Desmond rejoined with Dave Brubeck for several reunion tours including "Two Generations of Brubeck". Accompanying them were Brubeck's sons Chris Brubeck, Dan Brubeck and Darius Brubeck. In 1976 he played 25 shows in 25 nights with Brubeck, touring the United States in several cities by bus.
After some time spent inactive, he was asked to play the famous Half Note in New York City in 1971 by guitarist Jim Hall. With his special brand of humor, he says he only took the job because he was nearby and could tumble out of bed to work. The two continued to play at the club to jam-packed audiences. Desmond also joined The Modern Jazz Quartet for a Christmas concert in 1971 at the New York Town Hall.
Desmond recorded the tune "Summertime" along with many others during his time with Chet Baker.
Desmond met Ed Bickert through Jim Hall in Toronto, Canada and began performing with him at several clubs in the Toronto area. He appeared with the Paul Desmond Quartet at the Edmonton Jazz Festival.
Desmond played a Selmer ''Super Balanced Action'' alto saxophone with an M. C. Gregory model 4A-18M mouthpiece — both circa 1951 — with Rico 3 ½ reeds.
Take Five - The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond, by Doug Ramsey. 2005 Parkside Publications, Inc. Seattle, WA 98104 www.parksidepublications.com ISBN No. 0-9617266-7-9
Foreword by Dave and Iola Brubeck.
Excellent bio of the great lyrical alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. Author Ramsey discovered a "cache of correspondence and memos-to himself in which Desmond laid out the personal a musical philosophy that created a great modern American musician. This book is the story of a man who was unswerving in his determination to be an individualist in his art, curiously unsure of himself, and adored by his friends."
Category:1924 births Category:1977 deaths Category:American jazz alto saxophonists Category:American jazz composers Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:Cool jazz saxophonists Category:Mainstream jazz saxophonists Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:West Coast jazz saxophonists Category:RCA Victor artists
cs:Paul Desmond da:Paul Desmond de:Paul Desmond es:Paul Desmond eo:Paul Desmond fr:Paul Desmond it:Paul Desmond he:פול דזמונד mrj:Дезмонд, Пол nl:Paul Desmond ja:ポール・デスモンド nds:Paul Desmond pl:Paul Desmond pt:Paul Desmond ru:Дезмонд, Пол sr:Пол Дезмонд fi:Paul Desmond sv:Paul Desmond uk:Пол ДезмондThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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