The Gerry Mulligan Quartet of 1952-53 was one of the best-loved jazz groups of the decade and it made stars out of both the leader and trumpeter Chet Baker. Mulligan and Baker had very few reunions after 1953 but this particular CD from 1957 is an exception. Although not quite possessing the magic of the earlier group, the music is quite enjoyable and the interplay between the two horns is still special. With expert backup by bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Dave Bailey, these 13 selections (plus two new alternate takes) should please fans of both Mulligan and Baker.

One of the most infamously acrimonious musical unions transpired between two of the leading purveyors of West Coast cool jazz: Chet Baker (trumpet) and Stan Getz (tenor sax). Their paths crossed only a handful of times and West Coast Live captures two of their earliest encounters in Los Angeles at the Haig on June 12, 1953, and the Tiffany Club on August 17, 1953. These recordings have been issued in Europe and Japan ad infinitum in varying degrees of quality, completeness, and often sporting erroneous data. However, enthusiasts should note that West Coast Live is the only release derived from producer/engineer Dick Bock's own master reels. For two men who purportedly would rather not be in the same room at the same time, Baker and Getz are able to create some legitimately brilliant improvisation. For the Haig set, Getz had been brought in to co-lead a quartet with Baker for an incarcerated Gerry Mulligan.

During his extended "stay" in Europe circa the late '50s and early '60s, Chet Baker produced half a dozen albums for the Riverside Records subsidiary label Jazzland. On Chet Baker in Milan – the first of his overseas sides – Baker revisits the familiar stomping grounds of West Coast cool, even though he is the only American in the band. The basic quartet includes Chet Baker (trumpet), Renato Sellani (piano), Franco Serri (bass), and Gene Victory (drums). However, on a majority of the cuts, that unit is upgraded to a sextet with sax players Glauco Masetti (alto) and Gianno Basso (tenor). According to Peter Drew's brief liner notes essay, these Italian players were found by a local record label and arrangements were essentially retrofitted to suit Baker.

The Most Important Jazz Album of 1964/65 was the first album trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker recorded upon returning to the United States in 1964. Jazz had undergone a radical development post-1963 with artists such as John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter beginning to focus on complex harmonic explorations over pretty melody. Having spent the prior three years in Europe, falling deeper into heroin addiction, Baker found himself a pleasant, if somewhat forgotten, anachronism of the previous decade. Consequently, the icon of '50s cool attempted to reinvigorate his career and showcase his musical growth by enlisting the sensitive piano chops of Hal Galper and old collaborator tenor saxophonist Phil Urso. The new sideman, combined with a heavy dose of Tadd Dameron's compositions, gave Baker a more muscular edge that rubbed nicely with his trademark lyricism updating his sound for the hard bop '60s – a decade that would end, however, with Baker losing his teeth and falling into obscurity.

Chet Baker lives! By taking lush string arrangements by Michel Hardy recorded after the trumpeter's death and incorporating them in what appear to be two separate quartets sessions led by Baker from 1986 to 1988, this CD is a loving tribute to an icon of 20th Century jazz. The recording of the strings is seamless, lovingly performed, and sounds as if it were recorded contemporaneously with the small groups. The ten tunes are mostly ones Baker performed before, including "Angel Eyes," "My Funny Valentine," "As Time Goes By," and "My Foolish Heart." Although Baker was not in the best of shape and has trouble with his vocalizing, his trumpet work is satisfactory and the sheer emotions produced are nearly awe-inspiring…

Primarily a set of standards, the quartet (with pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Jean-Luis Rasinfosse, and drummer Jeff Brillinger) starts with "Two a Day," a brisk but brief original blues by the leader. Baker is at his lyrical best as a trumpeter on the foot patting take of "If I Should Lose You," while his hushed vocals prove effective during an otherwise rather long "This Is Always." Markowitz is an especially sensitive accompanist through this studio session.

Two stray Chet Baker 10" titles and a few associated alternate takes are gathered on this single disc. Grey December is one of the better CD reissues featuring Baker's early-'50s recordings on Pacific Jazz, the purveyors of West Coast cool. The instrumental sides feature two septet sessions in December of 1953 and the vocal sextet session dates to February of 1955 - all three of which feature Baker and pianist Russ Freeman. Rather than present these sides chronologically, the four vocal tracks precede the decidedly lengthier 1953 instrumental sessions - a programming decision that works remarkably well. Enthusiasts of Baker's laid-back vocals should consider the February 1955 sessions as essential…

This is not just another Chet Baker album. It's made up of the "other" tracks Chet recorded with his quintet - the "crew" - under Dick Bock's direction at the Forum Theater in Los Angeles, and never previously issued by Pacific Jazz Records - that is except for four tracks that appeared in a series of West Coast Jazz anthologies put together by Dick Bock on the World Pacific label.

This fine sampler has music from most of the periods of trumpeter Chet Baker's career, programmed in chronological order. Baker is heard with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet ("Freeway"), leading his own quartet with pianist Russ Freeman (including "My Funny Valentine"), and on selections from 1964, 1965, 1977, and 1983 ("Stella By Starlight" with Stan Getz). Although far from complete, this CD does give listeners a good glimpse at Baker's playing and singing (he takes vocals on eight of the 13 numbers) and does not shy away from his underrated late-period work.

One of the best settings for trumpeter Chet Baker was when he was accompanied by a guitar-bass duo. On this excellent Criss Cross CD, Baker is joined by guitarist Philip Catherine and bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse on a variety of high-quality standards that include such songs as "If I Should Lose You," Horace Silver's "Doodlin'," "Conception" and "Love for Sale." A special treat is hearing the talented but forgotten Bob Zieff's "Sad Walk." This is one of Baker's better albums from his later period.

His movie star good looks, his brilliant natural gift for the trumpet and his seductive vocals turned Chet Baker very quickly into a jazz cult icon in the '50s. The 10 tracks here featuring his vocals as well as trumpet date from that period. His soloing is clear toned and spacey, with long lyrical lines that twist the melodies. His almost conversational tenor vocals are disarmingly simple and stick closely to the bare bones of the melody with just the subtlest variation. All the tracks here are classics and include his trademark "My Funny Valentine," the lovely "I Fall in Love Too Easily," a quietly swinging "My Buddy" and a haunted "You Don't Know What Love Is."

Verve/A&M's reissue of Chet Baker's 1977 album You Can't Go Home Again features the trumpeter/vocalist supported by an all-star band that includes guitarist John Scofield, tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker, and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond in his final recording session. Former Miles Davis sidemen Tony Williams and Ron Carter also add an organic touch to the proceedings and a warm contrast to the electric pianos and Moogs that flow through Don Sebesky's arrangements. Alternate takes of the title track and others including "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You/You've Changed," "The Best Thing for You," and "If You Could See Me Now" make this double-disc set a more complete look at one of Baker's most important latter-day albums.

Baritonist Gerry Mulligan's pianoless quartet of 1952-1953 with trumpeter Chet Baker was one of the most popular groups of the period and an influential force on West Coast Jazz. Mulligan's interplay with Baker looked back toward the collective improvisation of Dixieland but utilized up-to-date harmonies. This four-CD set overlaps with a previous (and now out-of-print) five-LP Mosaic box. In addition to all of the Pacific Jazz (as opposed to Fantasy and GNP/Crescendo) recordings of the Mulligan Quartet (including the hit version of "My Funny Valentine"), this box has a few slightly earlier titles that find Mulligan gradually forming the group (even utilizing pianist Jimmie Rowles on two songs), tunes from live sessions in which altoist Lee Konitz made the band a quintet, the 1957 Mulligan-Baker set called Reunion, and an Annie Ross date from the same period (leaving out the numbers that have Art Farmer in Baker's place)…

Recorded live in Paris, November 24, 1983. "Barbados" recorded in Belgium, November 25, 1983.
Chet Baker was a primary exponent of the West Coast school of cool jazz in the early and mid-'50s. As a trumpeter, he had a generally restrained, intimate playing style and he attracted attention beyond jazz for his photogenic looks and singing.