Customer Reviews

In New York

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

 

 

Isn't it funny? "East coast vs. West coast" debates are almost universal. In the 90's it was hip hop, in the 70's it was funk, and in the 50's it was - you guessed it - bebop. This CD was recorded in the thick of the bebop "Eeast v. West" wars; Chet Baker, the quintessential West coast trumpet player with laid back sound meets a stunning east coast rythm section, the bass and drums of which are from Miles Davis's fame. The results are unique, masterful and phenomenal.

Without further ado let me say that this is in my top 5 list of jazz discs. Here we have Baker's laid back west coast melodicism (as he played by ear without technical training, his solos have a vocal-like melodicism) mixed with the undeniable east coast 'aggressive' swing. Both compliment eachother beautifully.

My favorites? "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" has an undeniable magic and Baker's solo is one of the best I've heard EVER (right beside Miles' "Freddy Freeloader"). "Hotel 49" is a blistering track finding Baker surpisingly comfortable out of his element in the world of hard bop. "Fair Weather" starts off the CD and while not the strongest track (that goes to "Polka Dots and Moonbeams") it may be the track that captures the overall magic of the session and the 'tension of opposites' between Baker's laid back approach and the unrelenting east coast swing.

Again, this CD is in the top 5 in my collection and when you hear it, you too may well understand why!

The songs on this are all of a uniformly high quality with excellent performances by Chet Baker on trumpet, Johnny Griffin on tenor sax (for tracks 1, 3 and 5), Al Haig on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The sound quality of the recording is very good with no audible artifacts. Hard to believe it's a live recording.

The takes are medium in length, Solar being the shortest at 5:49 and Hotel 49 being the longest at 9:52. The quartet/quintet plays together well and makes amazing music, especially for "Polka Dots.." and "Hotel 49". The music is also very approachable without being simple. This is one of the Jazz CD's my classical loving wife really likes. Highly recommended.

This isn't 'west coast' vs. 'east coast.' This is five extraudinary musicians, from different backgrounds who got together for a September session to record standards and jazz classics.

Chet Baker selected Johnny Griffen on tenor saxophone, Al Haig, a pioneer of bebop piano on piano, the bassist who was never out of work in the mid 50's and early 60's, Paul Chambers, and the hosue drummer for Riverside and Prestige Records, Philly Joe Jones.

The five men play together beautifully, although Griffen is left out on four tracks. Chet was a good material picker. The album opens up with 'Fair Weather.' Other great songs are 'Moonbeams,' When Lights Are Low,' and 'Hotel 49.'

In the liner notes, Orrin Keepknews stresses the fact that Chet is from California and the rest are from the east coast, (Philly, etc..) I find that to be a little irrelevant. This is just good jazz. No need to put a label on it.

Chet and crew gave way for a neat little album. It has been remastered in the fullest of form, except for the fact that Chet's horn gets destorted throughout the album. Musically, this album is brilliant. I just wish Chet would of stayed in New York a little longer, to make some more good jazz.

While the CD as a whole is pretty good, "Hotel 49" makes this CD shine, and I'd get it for this song alone. It's a hard, swinging song very unlike the songs he's trademarked for. He actually proves that he can play the trumpet. He teamed up with one of Miles' guys on this album as well, so you may hear some similarites (which isn't a bad thing). I also recommend "Chet." It's very mellow.

chet baker's recordings for the riverside label are not among his best, and this particular album is probably the worst of them, though it may be a tie with the mush-mouthed vocal stylings of "chet baker sings it could happen to you".

there are seven tunes on this album. 4 are performed with a quartet featuring chet, pianist al haig, bassist paul chambers and drummer philly joe jones. the rhythm section is in fine form here and pianist haig sounds great. but chet sounds winded and bereft of ideas on his solos. he often stumbles when he attempts double-time passages and comes really close on several occasions to blowing out-and-out clams. especially pathetic is "soft winds" during which chet meanders through an utterly lifeless solo and then barely manages to restate the melody at the end of the song. his solo on "when lights are low" comes close to those depths, as chet wanders listlessly and restates thin variations on the melody during what passes for his solo.

then there are the 3 quintet numbers where the quartet is joined by the great tenor saxophonist johnny griffin. for some reason (guess!) producers were careful to make sure that baker never directly follows griffin. whenever one of them plays a solo, another member of the band solos before the the other horn comes in. which is understandable because baker has no ideas on these tracks either while griffin is in full, brilliantly inventive form.

don't get me wrong: baker recorded a lot of music that i love. like miles davis, baker was NOT the greatest trumpet player on the planet, but he was a smart musician who used his limited abilities to the fullest. the quartet with russ freeman and the quintet recordings anthologized on "chet baker and crew at the LA forum" are among my favorite jazz albums. but "chet baker in new york" is an embarrassment to any chet baker fan and no one should waste time pretending that baker holds his own with the other four musicians on this session. griffin in particular is performing on a whole other level during his 3 cuts. even on a good day baker would have had trouble matching wits with griffin and this was not a good day for ol' chet.

if you have to own a baker album from his riverside period, i'd suggest the ballad collection "chet" or "chet baker plays the best of lerner and loewe" as those are enjoyable, though chet's playing is sub-par on those as well, just not as awful as his work on "chet baker in new york".

i love lots of west coast jazz and agree that many of the race-based arguments and distinctions that some jazz fans employ to make points are silly. but facts are facts: baker's playing on this album is really poor. it's not a problem of stylistic differences, it's a matter of baker's not being in good shape during this period of his career and this session providing inarguable proof of it.

I was very disappointed. Chet is barely heard over all the other instruments.
Would not recommend this CD if you are just "getting into" Chet's music.