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Chet Baker
The Chet Baker Monument in Amsterdam
The Chet Baker Monument in Amsterdam
Background information
Birth name Chesney Henry Baker Jr.
Born December 23, 1929(1929-12-23)
Origin Yale, Oklahoma, United States
Died May 13, 1988 (aged 58)
Genre(s) West Coast jazz
Occupation(s) Trumpeter
Jazz singer
Instrument(s) Trumpet
Vocals
Associated acts Gerry Mulligan

Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. Events 962 - Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Yale is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1342 at the 2000 census The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other West Coast jazz is a form of Jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco at about the same time as Hard bop jazz was developing Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan (April 6 1927 – January 20 1996 was an American Jazz saxophonist Composer and arranger. (Yale, Oklahoma, 23 December 1929 - Amsterdam, 13 May 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and singer. Yale is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1342 at the 2000 census Events 962 - Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States

Specializing in relaxed, even melancholy music, Baker rose to prominence as a leading name in cool jazz in the 1950s. Cool jazz is a Jazz style that emerged in the late 1940s in New York City. Baker's good looks and smoldering, intimate singing voice established him as a promising name in pop music as well. Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure But his success was badly hampered by drug addiction, particularly in the 1960s, when he was imprisoned. Drug addiction is widely considered a pathological state. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute Drug use to the development of drug-seeking

He mounted a successful comeback in the '70s, but died in 1988 after falling from a hotel window.

Contents

Biography

Early days

Baker was born and raised in a musical household in Yale, Oklahoma; his father was a professional guitar player. Yale is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1342 at the 2000 census Baker began his musical career singing in a church choir. His father introduced him to brass instruments with a trombone, which was replaced with a trumpet when the trombone proved too large for him. The trombone is a Musical instrument in the brass family Like all brass instruments it is a lip-reed Aerophone: sound is produced when the player’s

Baker received some musical education at Glendale Junior High School, but left school at age 16 in 1946 to join the United States Army. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. He was posted to Berlin where he joined the 298th Army band. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Leaving the army in 1948, he studied theory and harmony at El Camino College in Los Angeles. El Camino College is a two-year public Community college located in the city of Torrance in Los Angeles County, California, United He dropped out in his second year, and re-enlisted in the army in 1950. Baker once again obtained a discharge from the army to pursue a career as a professional musician. Baker became a member of the Sixth Army Band at the Presidio in San Francisco, but was soon spending time in San Francisco jazz clubs such as Bop City and the Black Hawk. The Presidio of San Francisco (originally El Presidio Real de San Francisco or Royal Presidio of San Francisco) is a park on the northern tip of the San The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city The Black Hawk was a legendary San Francisco Nightclub hosting a spectacular range of Jazz talents during its heyday from 1949 to 1963

Career breakthrough

Baker's earliest notable professional gigs were with saxophonist Vido Musso's band, and also with saxophonist Stan Getz, though he earned much more renown in 1951 when he was chosen by Charlie Parker to play with him for a series of West Coast engagements. Vido William Musso ( 7 January 1913 - 9 January 1982) was an Italian -born Jazz tenor saxophonist, Clarinetist Stanley Gayetzky ( February 2, 1927 in Philadelphia – June 6, 1991 in Malibu, California) usually known by

In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon. Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan (April 6 1927 – January 20 1996 was an American Jazz saxophonist Composer and arranger. Several things made the Mulligan/Baker group special, the most prominent being the interplay between Mulligan's baritone sax and Baker's trumpet. Rather than playing identical melody lines in unison like bebop giants Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the two would complement each other's playing with contrapuntal touches, and it often seemed as if they had telepathy in anticipating what the other was going to play next. In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or Bebop or bop is a form of Jazz characterized by fast Tempos and Improvisation based on Harmonic structure rather than Melody John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( October 21 1917 &ndash January 6 1993) was an American Jazz Trumpeter In Music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and Rhythm, and interdependent in Harmony The Quartet's version of "My Funny Valentine", featuring a memorable Baker solo, was a major hit, and became a song with which Baker was intimately associated. For the album by Miles Davis see My Funny Valentine (album " My Funny Valentine " is a Show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and

The Quartet found success quickly, but lasted less than a year because of Mulligan's arrest and imprisonment on drug charges. In 1954, Baker won the Downbeat Jazz Poll. Over the next few years, Baker fronted his own combos, including a 1955 quintet featuring Francy Boland, where Baker combined playing trumpet and singing. François Boland (November 6 1929 in Namur Belgium – August 12 2005 in Geneva) was a classically trained Belgian jazz composer and pianist He became an icon of the west coast "cool school" of jazz, helped by his good looks and singing talent. West Coast jazz is a form of Jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco at about the same time as Hard bop jazz was developing

Drug addiction and professional decline

A heroin user since the 1950s, the effects of drug addiction eventually caught up with Baker, and his promising musical career declined as a result. Heroin ( INN: diacetylmorphine, BAN: diamorphine) is a semi-synthetic opioid synthesized from Morphine, a derivative In the early 1960s, he served more than a year in prison in Italy on drugs charges, and was later expelled from both West Germany and England for drug-related offenses. A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest West Germany ( Inf German: Westdeutschland or West-Deutschland) was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany ( England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Baker was eventually deported from West Germany to the United States after running afoul of the law there a second time. Deportation, not to be confused with Extradition, generally means the expulsion of someone from a place or Country. He settled in Milpitas in northern California where he was active in San Jose and San Francisco between short jail terms served for prescription fraud. Milpitas (mɪlˈpiːtəs is a City in Santa Clara County California. Northern California is the northern portion of the US state of California. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city A prescription (℞ is a health-care program implemented by a Physician or other medical practitioner in the form of instructions that govern the plan of care for an individual

In 1966, Baker was severely beaten (allegedly while attempting to buy drugs) after a gig in San Francisco, sustaining severe cuts on the lips and broken front teeth, which ruined his embouchure. Gig is a term commonly used by bands with reference to their live shows generally the bands play through a speaker system more recently however there has been the worlds first Silent The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the Mouthpiece of a Wind instrument. Accounts of the incident vary, largely because of Baker's lack of reliable testimony on the matter. It has also been suggested that the story is a fabrication altogether, and that Baker's teeth had just rotted due to heavy substance abuse -- two missing teeth can be clearly seen in a 1964 performance in Belgium (on Chet Baker: Live in '64 and '79), suggesting this is indeed the case. From that time he had to learn to play with dentures. Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the Oral cavity.

Between 1966 and 1974, Baker mostly played flugelhorn and recorded music that could mostly be classified as early smooth jazz or mood music. The flugelhorn (also spelled fluegelhorn or flügelhorn) is a Brass instrument resembling a Trumpet but with a wider conical bore Smooth jazz, also sometimes referred to as new adult contemporary music is generally described as a genre of music that utilizes instruments (and at times improvisation

Comeback and later career

After developing a new embouchure due to his dentures, Baker returned to the straight-ahead jazz that began his career, relocating to New York City and began performing and recording again, notably with guitarist Jim Hall. The City of New York James Stanley Hall (born December 4, 1930, Buffalo New York) is an American Jazz Guitarist. Later in the seventies, Baker returned to Europe where he was assisted by his friend Diane Vavra who took care of his personal needs and otherwise helped him during his recording and performance dates.

From 1978 onwards, Baker resided and played almost exclusively in Europe, returning to the USA roughly once per year for a few performance dates.

Between 1978 and 1988, Baker recorded more than ever before in his life; however, as his extensive output is strewn across numerous, mostly small European labels, none of these recordings ever reached a wider audience, even though many of them were well-received by the critics, who maintain that this was probably Baker's most mature and most rewarding phase. Of particular importance are Baker's quartet featuring the pianist Phil Markowitz (1978-80) and his trio with guitarist Philip Catherine and bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse (1983-85). Phil Markowitz is a jazz pianist and educator He graduated from the Eastman School of Music and in 1979 had his "first big break" working with Chet Baker Philip Catherine (born 27 October 1942) is a Belgian Jazz Guitarist.

In 1983, British singer Elvis Costello, a longtime fan of Baker, hired the trumpeter to play a solo on his song "Shipbuilding", from the album Punch the Clock. Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus 25 August 1954 is an English Musician and Singer-songwriter, with Irish ancestry " Shipbuilding " is a song written by singer/songwriter Elvis Costello and producer Clive Langer. Punch the Clock is an album released in 1983 by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The song was a top 40 hit in the UK, and exposed a new audience to Baker's music. The Top Forty or Top 40 is a music industry shorthand for the currently most-popular songs in a particular genre. Later, Baker would often feature Costello's song "Almost Blue" (inspired by Baker's version of "The Thrill Is Gone") in his live sets, and recorded the song on Let's Get Lost. "The Thrill is Gone" is a Blues song written by Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins in 1951 and popularized by B

The video material recorded by Japanese television during Baker's 1987 tour in Japan showed a man whose face looked much older than he was; however, his trumpet playing was more alert, lively and inspired than ever before. Fans and critics alike agree that the live album Chet Baker in Tokyo, recorded less than a year before his death and released posthumously, ranks among Baker's very best.

Death

At about 3:00 am on Friday May 13, 1988, Baker was found dead on a street below his second-story room at the Prins Hendrik Hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with serious wounds to his head. Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Heroin and cocaine were found in his hotel room, and an autopsy also found these drugs in his body. Heroin ( INN: diacetylmorphine, BAN: diamorphine) is a semi-synthetic opioid synthesized from Morphine, a derivative Cocaine ( benzoylmethyl ecgonine) is a Crystalline Tropane Alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the Coca plant An autopsy, also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy, or obduction, is a Medical procedure that consists of a thorough Examination There was no evidence of a struggle, and the death was ruled an accident. An accident is a specific identifiable unexpected unusual and unintended external event which occurs in a particular time and place without apparent or deliberate However, the lack of witnesses has fueled subsequent unsubstantiated rumors, including some suggesting that Baker was murdered or committed suicide. [1]

Baker's body was brought home for interment in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California. Inglewood Park Cemetery founded in 1905 is at 720 E Florence Avenue in Inglewood California. Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. A plaque outside the hotel now memorializes him.

Book, film and dramatic biographies

Let's Get Lost

Jeroen de Valk has written two biographies of Baker: Chet Baker: His Life and Music and Chet Baker: Herinneringen aan een lyrisch trompettist (Remembrance of a lyrical trumpet player). James Gavin has also written a biography: Deep In A Dream — The Long Night of Chet Baker.

One of the chapters in Geoff Dyer's book But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz deals with Baker. Geoff Dyer (born June 5, 1958) is a British Author. He lives in London. But Beautiful is a book about Jazz and jazz musicians by Geoff Dyer. It should be noted, however, that Dyer's account is largely fictitious and treats certain facets of Baker's life very liberally.

Baker was immortalized by the photographer William Claxton in his book Young Chet: The Young Chet Baker. William Claxton is a Photographer and Author born in Pasadena California in 1927 An Academy Award-nominated 1988 documentary about Baker, Let's Get Lost, portrays him as a cultural icon of the 1950s, but juxtaposes this with his later image as a drug addict. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality Let's Get Lost ( 1988) is a American Documentary film about the turbulent life and career of Jazz trumpeter Chet Baker written The film, directed by fashion photographer Bruce Weber, was shot in black-and-white and includes a series of interviews with friends, family (including his three children by third wife Carol Baker), associates and lovers, interspersed with film from Baker's earlier life, and with interviews with Baker from his last years. Bruce Weber (born March 29, 1946 in Greensburg Pennsylvania) is an American Fashion photographer and occasional Filmmaker Black-and-white is a number of Monochrome forms in Visual arts.

Time after Time: The Chet Baker Project, written by playwright James O'Reilly, toured Canada in 2001 to much acclaim. [2]

The musical play Chet Baker - Speedball explores aspects of his life and music, and was premiered in London at the Oval House Theatre in February 2007, with further development of the script and performances leading to its revival at the 606 Club in the London Jazz Festival of November 2007. The Oval House Theatre is a Theatre directed by Karena Johnson in the London Borough of Lambeth. The 606 Club is a Jazz club in Chelsea London. It was originally in 606 Kings Road, but moved to 90 Lots Road in 1987.

Baker was reportedly the inspiration for the character Chad Bixby, played by Robert Wagner in the 1960 film All the Fine Young Cannibals. Robert John Wagner (born February 10, 1930) is a Golden Globe - nominated prolific American Film and Television All The Fine Young Cannibals is a 1960 film directed by Michael Anderson, based on the novel by Rosamond Marshall starring Robert Wagner Another film, to be titled Prince of Cool, and claiming to be a new take on the life of "the legendary trumpeter whose heroin addiction contributed to his (reported) suicide in 1988," was planned for release in 2008. Josh Hartnett was in talks to star in the film but dropped out after several disagreements with the producers. Plans for the film have been canceled as of January 2008. [3]

Honors

Partial discography

References

  1. ^ Greg B., "About Chet" (fan site) URL accessed 2007-08-04
  2. ^ TIME AFTER TIME: THE CHET BAKER PROJECT.(Review) (theater review) | Variety | Find Articles at BNET.com
  3. ^ MTV Movies Blog » Josh Hartnett Won’t Be Getting Jazzed For ‘Cool’ Chet Baker Flick

External links


Persondata
NAME Baker, Chet
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Baker, Chesney Henry, Jr. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar)
SHORT DESCRIPTION American Jazz Musician
DATE OF BIRTH December 23, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Yale, Oklahoma
DATE OF DEATH May 13, 1988
PLACE OF DEATH Amsterdam, Netherlands
Events 962 - Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Yale is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1342 at the 2000 census Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west
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