Quintessence (Vol. 2)
The followup toQuintessence, Volume 1documents more of Stan Getz and Chet Baker's February 1983 concert in Norway. Fortunately, the Norwegian Broadcasting Company recorded the reunion of these two lyrical, instrumental voices. Both men, in particular the hard-living Baker, were well past their primes at this point, yet each still had enough left, both in terms of technique and of having something to say, to make this an essential recording for fans. For those new to either man's work, however, there are many better records to start with. Still, this polite and well-played seven-song set, which includes tunes bySonny Rollins("Airegin"),Billy Strayhorn("Blood Count"), and Jule Styne-Sammy Cahn ("You or No One"), and which contains nary a word of between-song patter, has many moments where Getz's famous "lovely" and lyrical tone is undeniably gorgeous. Baker, to his credit, makes the most of his solo spaces, his diffident,Miles Davis-influenced lines providing a good foil for Getz's more aggressive exhortations. The interplay between the two on tunes like "I'll Remember April" is predictably cool and airy, but also a great deal weaker in tone and ideas than it might have been a decade or two earlier. For those golden moments, try the two-CDWest Coast Live.--Robert Baird