Chet Baker Quartet Featuring Russ Freeman [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Russ Freeman, Chet Baker, Chet Baker-Russ Freeman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 5, 1998)
• Original Release Date: 1953
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000006DGD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,204 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #3 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Cool Jazz
  • #60 in Music > Jazz > Cool Jazz
  • #78 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > General

Editorial Reviews

Jazz Times

...Baker's clarity of conception and execution in the best of [these recordings] [are stonishing]. That is particularly true of his works on several of Freeman's originals....

Product Description

Includes Chet's vocal rendition of I Fall Too Easily , which actually became a hit and caused him to emphasize singing over blowing for the rest of his career. The rest of this 25-track collection, though, is pure instrumental jazz, and includes lots of rare 10" and 12" LP takes. Classic stuff!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Chet at His Best, March 30, 2000

By 

Daniel G. Berk (West Bloomfield, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chet Baker Quartet Featuring Russ Freeman (Audio CD)

These recordings, made between February and October 1953, feature Baker at the threshold of his carreer and vividly show his ceativity and promise. Anyone who questions why he continues to be held in such high esteem, should find the answer in listening to this CD.

There's a story that Charlie Parker, upon returning to New York from a trip to California, warned Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis about a new, young trumpet player out there named Chet Baker. These recordings demonstrate that the warning was justified.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pairing Made In Heaven!, May 29, 2000

By 

carol irvin "carol irvin" (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chet Baker Quartet Featuring Russ Freeman (Audio CD)

Pairing Chet Baker with Russ Freeman in the '50s resulted in some of the most gorgeous recordings of any era. Baker was an icon of the jazz world for his trumpet playing, his singing (almost sounding like a trumpet) and his incredible looks, which really stood out in the rather homely jazz world (jazz guys do not usually look like rock stars!). Russ Freeman was a fabulous pianist plus also a composer. Together the two men played the most romantic, most emotional music extant in jazz. Theirs is not the "intellectual" jazz as popularized by Dave Brubeck. Warning: Buying one Chet Baker CD can be dangerous for the wallet. Once you own one of his discs, you will want all of them. I certainly did and now have the cd collection to prove it! I also bought every recording I was able to find that he did with Russ Freeman.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is top notch West Coast playing, December 12, 1999

By 

DJ Rix (NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quartet: Russ Freeman / Chet Baker (Audio CD)

This disc is actually "Quartet: Russ Freeman and Chet Baker" & is a Russ Freeman session issued under Chet's name. Russ composed 6 of the 8 tunes & he makes Chet work for his wages.

The album opens amusingly with "Love Nest," otherwise known as the theme for the Burns & Allen Show. Russ takes the lovely "Summer Sketch" solo half of the way through, then bringing Chet in for no more than a wonderfully pensive turn at the melody. That's followed by, for me, the album's two most swinging cuts, "An Afternoon at Home" & "Say When." They also pay homage to Billy Strayhorn with a romantic arrangement of "Lush Life."

This is top notch West Coast playing, with Shelly Manne on sticks & Leroy Vinnegar on big fiddle. Recorded in 1956. No singing. Check out the thumbnails on the insert by photographer William Claxton then check out the collections of great photos Claxton shot of this era & these talented musicians.

Bob Rixon, WFMU