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Chet Baker Sings

No more than dimly aware of his music, I hadn't known of Chet Baker's outings as a vocalist until about four or five years ago. Then, in a classic case of the so-called Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, I suddenly seemed to hear and read about it from multiple sources within the space of a few months. Having much enjoyed some of the tracks from Chet Baker Sings, I obtained it on CD, as part of a four-disc set of Eight Classic Albums which also included two other records with some of Chet's crooning on them: Grey December and Embraceable You.

Then, last year, I happened to find a vinyl copy in the wild - specifically a mid-'80s Spanish re-issue in excellent condition that, according to Discogs, is worth rather more than the few pounds I paid for it. The record brings together the contents of a 10" album recorded and released in 1954 (the original Chet Baker Sings) with a further half dozen numbers recorded in 1956 for the initial 12" issue. The music is mellow, and Baker's low-key singing, which sounds exactly like his trumpet-playing would suggest, charms & beguiles. It makes for excellent late evening listening.

The earlier set of songs are generally the stronger ones, with the run of four numbers that kicks off Side B ('But Not For Me', 'Time After Time', 'I Get Along Without You Very Well' and 'My Funny Valentine') being my favourite part of the record. The sleeve-notes are interesting: the work of Gerald Heard, not a name I'd knowingly encountered before. Weirdly, there's a thumbnail bio of Heard on the sleeve (but not one of Baker!) in which we are told his friends included "Lord Maynard Keynes, George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, John Gielgud, Igor Stravinsky and Dave Brubeck." Must have been quite a guy.

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