Customer Reviews

West Coast Live (Performance Series)

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

 

 

True, Getz' jealousy of Baker's musical talent and popularity has always been a factor in their musical relationship. Nowhere is this seen more flagrantly than on the 3CD Getz/Baker "The Stockholm Concerts" 2/18/83 performances (Verve 537 555-2). This should not be a factor to discourage a fan of either musician from purchasing this release. Frequently, the competition between musicians creates some fantastic creative improvisation, and that's exactly what "West Coast Live" documents. Both Getz and Baker are youthful and fluid in their ideas. Baker's chops are solid, as he has teeth at this period of his career. The selection of Bop classics couldn't be more pleasing. I have listened to these disks close to 100 times, and still hear new content. True, Getz' ego has always run away with itself when in the presence of Baker, but that's what keeps both musicians on their toes. Personally, I do feel Baker was overly passive and unfairly abused by Getz, but feeling sorry for him is unnecessary. Baker stands on his own quite well, and in my opinion, steals the show on these classic live performances. No wonder Getz' was jealous!

ABOUT THE MUSIC--This is a surprisingly well-recorded two hours worth of West Coast Jazz recorded in 1953-54 Los Angeles. I use the word "surprisingly" here because Most live sessions from the early-to-mid 50s which have gone unreleased for over 40 years suffer from poor-to-sub-par recording quality. No such problem here--all the instruments are clear and the recording approaches studio quality. It's a nice engineering job from producer Richard Bock.

Stan Getz plays well here--his playing seems to endlessly flow from a seemingly inexaustable well. The saxophonist, however, tries mighty hard to invoke the chemistry Baker effortlessly had with Gerry Mulligan (improvised counterpoint, fugal-like filigrees, etc), but you can't TRY for chemistry. It has to happen naturally. It doesn't quite happen here, but man, does Getz put forth an effort to make the magic materialize! His playing is relaxed and technically impressive, but at times comes across as too cool, too lacking in emotion. In fact, downright cold in places. Stan would not have this problem in the 60s, but it plagues him to an extent here, despite the easy flow of his improvisations.

Chet's playing here is warmer than Getz's, but he has played better on other Pacific Jazz releases, notably Jazz at Ann Arbor and Quartet with Russ Freeman. Plus, he seems to be a little bit off-mike at times. Nevertheless, it you like West Coast Jazz, you're bound to enjoy the two CDs presented here. I would actually give this release 3 1/2 stars if I could.

ABOUT THE LINER NOTES: Having James Gavin write the liner notes for a Chet Baker release is akin to asking the late Albert Goldman to write the liner notes for a John Lennon album, or asking Mitch Miller to pen the liner notes for the new Rolling Stones reissue (it seems as if the Stones have some kind of new reissue every other week!). That Gavin has a vendetta against Baker is obvious from reading his Baker biography "Deep in a Dream" where he tears Chet a new one. I mean, Gavin totally raked poor Chet over the coals as a trumpet player(occasional faint praise above the endless damnation) and supposed rip-off artist who merely imitated Miles Davis and couldn't sing his way out of a wet paper bag. In fact, Gavin is particularly savage and cruel in his brutal condemation of Chet's vocalising. Despite this, Gavin was paid to write the liner notes for not only this CD, but the Embraceable You CD as well, a vocal album where Baker sings about 90% of the material!

So my question is this: If James Gavin is so utterly critical of Chet as a musician (we can overlook his critcism of Chet as a person, most of which was deserved), why did the suits at Capitol (who own the PJ catalog) hire him to write the liner notes to this and other CDs on that label? Why not someone who actually APPRECIATES Chet's playing and singing? Didn't the powers that be read "Deep in a Dream?" I just find something incredibly wrong about choosing this critic to write these notes!

But he does praise Chet's playing in the liner notes here. I am reminded of Nat Hentoff, who put down organist Jimmy Smith in review after review in Down Beat for being "too raucous" and "not relaxed enough." (Hentoff acutally preferred boring, coma-inducing Les Strand as an organist; even Lawrence Welk's organ player was far more swinging than Strand, believe it or not). This went on for years, UNTIL Hentoff, for some unknown reason, was paid to write the liner notes for a Jimmy Smith album, whereupon he suddenly LIKED Jimmy Smith's organ playing, despite putting it down for years on end. Maybe that's why James Gavin suddenly thinks Baker is a great trumpet player here. In other words, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, money doesn't talk, it swears!

The song you have listed as "This time the dream's on me" is
actually "Just the way you look tonight."

Sometimes it helps to go back. I wrote this review years ago I relistened to my dusty copy and I was dead wrong. I must revise it.

Stan Getz and Chet Baker hated each other, according to "Stan Getz, A Life in Jazz". At least Stan thought Baker was unprofessional and often "smacked up" falling over, off-key, out-of-tune. Stan was probably just as high, but could seemingly play perfectly no matter how high he was. Future Stan often got annoyed with Chet's sloppy play. On the album "Quintessence 1" and many others, this is certainly true. Yet they were constantly being pushed together by record companies, to make that magic album by the Kings of Cool that always eluded the producers.

But not here, particularly. Both sound amazingly sober. It's 1953, Gerry Mulligan is in slam for indulging in his bad habits. Baker with Mulligan's old band looking for work and trolling around for a sax man.

No Baker croning here (at this point in his life Chet sang his best or mostly in-tune, stuff). There is the kind of complex, yet Cool, aloof bepop duets that one finds with Getz and Brookmeyer. Getz and Baker carefully dance around each other creating instant chords without a piano. "Bernies Tune", the Mulligan classic, is an excellent example, not the sax solo's, then trumpet but true interaction. All here is Cool, witty, dry and buttoned-down. Which I guess means "West Coast". A dry martini. Almost like Paul Desmond!

What I'd have liked more of, except for "Yesterdays" "What's New" and a pinch of "Funny Valentine", is heartfelt ballads where the primaries dig deep within themselves. Most is fast, light, intricate bepop. Never raucous. There are two versions of the annoying "Winter Wonderland"

If I could change my rating this really deserves a solid 3 1/2 to four stars. No it's not profound or deeply moving but enjoyable.

Monophonic recording

This is a good album by both of these exceptional artist and with the recording you can tell it was made in their early part of their wonderful carreers and should not be passed up if you like early stuff.

The idea of Stan Getz and Chet Baker looked good on paper, but the music, however, wasn't rewarding. The fact that Getz and Baker didn't like each other perhaps marred what, otherwise, could have been an amazing collaboration. I mean there's really no words to describe the music other than stale and lacking any kind of fire or passion. Both Baker and Getz are emotionally and intellectually detached from each other, which makes for bad music making.

This only proves my theory if looks too good to be true, it probably is. Baker and Getz fans stay away from this one and pursue their work as leaders.