Chet Baker Quartet - Chet Baker in Paris Vol. 2 (2024) [SACD]

Chet Baker is one of the most impressive figures in contemporary jazz. The sole mention of his name is enough to raise applause or to get enthusiastic responses from his fellow musicians. And even those who seem less given to praise him, must accept they are in the presence of an artist about whom a lot is going to be said in the coming years. Among those who truly appreciate him some would exclaim: "He is a true unsung genius!" The tragic end of Bix Beiderbecke's life still hurts the spirit of music critics and pushes them when speaking about the qualities of a jazz soloist.
The truth is Chet Baker isn't at all unsung. Rewarded as the best trumpeter in the last Down Beat and Metronome polls, he enjoys tremendous recognition in America. But it's truly satisfying to find a timid young man who practically asked for permission to play, and who once he began, made not a single
concession to "commercialism".
His sound is far from being as strong as those of Harry James, Louis Armstrong or Roy Eldridge...
The music Chet Baker plays seems to come from an intense inner daydream. His sound is constructed around delicate and subtle phrases.
Chet Baker was born in Yale, Oklahoma, on December 23, 1929, and studied music until the age of fourteen.
He joined the American army in Germany and was astounded by modern jazz.
Before creating his own group, he played with Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, and Stan Getz.
The music he recorded with Mulligan made him well known in Europe.
With his own quartet, he toured Europe in 1955, enchanting the audiences with the sincerity of those who live only for their art, and who make of music their true lover.
The quartet heard playing here in top form was wonderfully recorded. The group is composed of Chet Baker, trumpet; Jimmy Bond, bass; Bert Dahlander, drums (he is Swedish), and a young French pianist of whom much has been said in a short time: Gérard Gustin. Although this recording is different from Baker's first album for BARCLAY DISQUES (84.009), it is as good as its predecessor, giving further confirmation of the brilliance of this modern trumpeter.