Chet Baker

The all-star Riverside date with Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Kenny Burrell, Pepper Adams, and Herbie Mann. The lyrical trumpet record, full stop: ballads with Evans that reach a kind of perfection neither man found anywhere else.

The farewell. Eleven months before his death, with Harold Danko, Hein Van Der Geyn, and John Engels in front of a reverent Tokyo audience. The fourteen-minute My Funny Valentine and the definitive Almost Blue. Essential late Baker.

The Copenhagen quartet date built entirely on Duke Jordan compositions, with Jordan himself at the piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Norman Fearrington on drums. Two bebop survivors working through tunes one of them wrote.

No drums, no piano: just Baker with Doug Raney's guitar and Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen's bass. The most exposed setting of the late career and one of the best European records. Quiet, honest, and completely whole.

The comeback record. Creed Taylor, Van Gelder's studio, the CTI house band, and Paul Desmond joining for an Autumn Leaves that became one of the most loved tracks in the whole Baker catalog. The second half of the story starts here.

The hard-swinging quintet date with Art Pepper, built on Jimmy Heath tunes. Originally issued as Playboys with the notorious pin-up cover, later reissued as Picture of Heath. Reviewed on our site under its original title.

The final studio statement of the partnership that built the West Coast quartet sound. Freeman's tunes, Baker's horn, and the easy telepathy of four years working together. The cornerstone collaboration of the Pacific Jazz era.