Customer Reviews

Diane

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to agree with the positive's of other reviewers here. Diane is everything said of it and then some; I have heard most all of the 80's Steeplechase releases that Chet Baker recorded, and there were a host of them! From Someday My Prince Will Come, to Daybreak, to The Touch of Your Lips, which included the stellar bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen. The recording quality of every single one of these releases on this Danish-? label, is excellent. Though some of them are even recorded "live", they all are recorded with incredible warmth and clarity--a kind of immediate presence, that allows the trumpeter's phrasing to be heard down to the breathy vibrato of each wonderful note.
Most of the songs are down tempo songs--ballads which allow the two performers plenty of time to stretch out on solos; however, as much as I was worried that an entire album with just a trumpeter and a pianist would be somewhat too sparse to do justice to the songs, I was very pleasantly surprised at the arrangements of the songs...Paul Bley's piano playing is very sympathetic to Mr. Baker's warm, and simple, trumpet work. Oddly enough, I found Bley to be as interesting if not more so, in some parts, than the horn playing. No matter that the songs are--some of them--quite long; both performers keep the arrangements moving ahead, and I just found myself listening to and enjoying the music, rather than feeling a need to nitpick about this or that choice of phrasing, or, more generally, the choice to record with just a Trumpet and a Piano.
There is a tremendous amount of emotion in Bley's piano, which complements the aging Trumpeter's somewhat limited, but incredibly graceful melodies. One can hear the effects of Baker's tumultuous and troubled life in his playing--from the entry of the first note on "If I should Lose You", throughout the entire cd. The sadness that comes through on each of the ballads hangs on each note, but it doesn't seem to indulge itself to the point of overdoing it. I found myself wanting to listen to the entire cd, each time enjoying it as much, if not more so than the previous time. It just seems the two artists have enough to say, and have found the right way to say it here. Bley's piano shines, and Mr. Baker's trumpet is warm and poignant, as are many of his late in life releases.
Overall, this is quite an enjoyable duo, and in my humble opinion, one of the better Steeplechase recordings that Chet Baker did, from the late 70's until his death in 1988. 4 Stars

A great combination, a very fluid piano style with the
emotionally naked expression by Chet.
Beautifully recorded too, you hear the wonderful sound of Chet's trumpet.

I was Chet's pianist during the summer of 1963 when he was playing regularly at Le Chat Qui Peche,a small cave in Paris.After the gig we sometimes played ballads together which revealed the lonely depths of his profound musical creativity. "Diane" is the only recording which captures chet's musical vision of the aloneness of being a sensate human being.Sheer genius.

This album creeps up on you. Its quiet, soulful melodies get me nodding my head and feeling mellow, and I like it more on each replaying. Highly recommended.

Masterful display of trumpet and piano standards, played by the soulful Chet Baker, beautifully enhanced by Paul Bley's sumptuous voicings.
Miss it at your peril...

this music settles on you like a cool mist. barely there but refreshing and gentle.
it is similar in a way to art lande's rubisa patrol cd.
unobtrusive but deep.
richly rewarding.
highly recommended.

This is a very good CD by Baker. The only thing that annoyed me is that I was expecting "You Go to my Head" to be played on trumpet; instead we have to put up with Baker's lousy singing.

For those who are looking for a collection of smokey late night ballads by Chet Baker, this is the CD to pick up. It's a stripped down duet collection of just piano and trumpet. Cool jazz for the night owl!

I would describe this cd just with some words: cool, intense, outstanding.This cd just flows. You can really feel Chet's poetry. Warmth and expressiveness are what its really about.