Chet Baker - The Best of Chet Baker Sings (1989) [1997 The Blue Note Collection]

To much of the pop (as opposed to the jazz) audience, Chet Baker was known not as an able cool jazz trumpeter, but as a romantic balladeer. The two classifications were not mutually exclusive; Baker's vocal numbers would also feature his trumpet playing, as well as fine instrumental support from West Coast cool jazzers. For those who prefer the vocal side of the Baker canon, this is an excellent compilation of his best vintage material in that mode. The 20 tracks draw from sessions covering the era when he was generally conceded to be at his vocal peak (1953-1956), and are dominated by standards from the likes of Rodgers & Hart, Carmichael, Gershwin, and Kern. Baker's singing was white and naïve in the best senses, with a quavering, uncertain earnestness that embodied a certain (safe) strain of mid-'50s bohemianism. That's the Baker heard on this collection, which contains some his most famous interpretations, including "My Funny Valentine," "Time After Time," "There Will Never Be Another You," and "Let's Get Lost." - AllMusic Review

Tracks:

1 The Thrill Is Gone
2 But Not for Me
3 Time After Time
4 I Get Along Without You Very Well
5 There Will Never Be Another You
6 Look for the Silver Lining
7 My Funny Valentine
8 I Fall in Love Too Easily
9 Daybreak
10 Just Friends
11 I Remember You
12 Let's Get Lost
13 Long Ago and Far Away
14 You Don't Know What Love Is
15 That Old Feeling
16 It's Always You
17 I've Never Been in Love Before
18 My Buddy
19 Like Someone in Love
20 My Ideal