CHET BAKER
Genres: Hard Bop, Post Bop, Cool Jazz, Vocal Jazz, Bop, Pop, Art Song, Folk, Big Band, Exotica, Jazz Related Soundtracks, Post-Fusion Contemporary, Latin Jazz, Classic Fusion • United States

Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 - May 13, 1988) was born in Yale, Oklahoma. A trumpet player, Baker was an important part of the West coast "cool jazz" school of the 1950s. He first came to prominence in the jazz world as part of the pianoless Gerry Mulligan Quartet -- Mulligan had played with Miles Davis, whose Birth of the Cool is recognized as ushering in the movement. Baker's trumpet playing is characterized by incredibly sweet tones, clear and almost vibrato-less. He was also a vocalist, and his vocal stylings matched his trumpet-playing in terms of style and feeling, with an emphasis on clarity and gentleness of expression, rather than vibrato or vocal pyrotechnics. While he was widely acclaimed musically, and his movie-star good looks ensured plenty of popular attention, his personal life was extremely troubled. A heroin addict, his relationships and life were marked read more...