Chet Baker – Chet Baker Sings LP

Chet Baker – Chet Baker Sings

Just like Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker gained renown as a brilliant trumpet player and as a superb singer. However, it came as a total surprise to his fans in 1954 when Chet, who up to that time was best known for his instrumental virtues, issued his first vocal album, a 10” LP consisting of the eight tracks on side B of this album. Such was the success of the experiment that more vocal sessions were made shortly after, and in 1956 the final "Chet Baker Sings" 12” LP appeared adding the 1954 sessions which fill Side A of the present record.

The album received rave reviews from the start, and catapulted Baker to fame not only as a jazz musician, but also as a pop star. The album was given a five-star rating in All Music Guide, with critic Stewart Mason stating that “it’s difficult to decide whether Chet Baker was a trumpet player who sang or a singer who played trumpet. When the 24-year-old California-based trumpeter started his vocal career in 1954, his singing was revolutionary; as delicate and clear as his trumpet playing, with a similarly bright and vibrato-free tone, Baker simply didn’t sound like any previous jazz singer.” In 2001, Chet Baker Sings received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

Tracklist:
1. That Old Feeling (Lew Brown-Sammy Fain) 3:01
2. It's Always You (Johnny Burke-Jimmy Van Heusen) 3:32
3. Like Someone In Love (Johnny Burke-Jimmy Van Heusen) 2:23
4. My Ideal (Newell Chase-Richard A. Whiting-Leo Robin) 4:23
5. I've Never Been In Love Before (Frank Loesser) 4:26
6. My Buddy (Walter Donaldson-Gus Kahn) 3:17
7. But Not For Me (George & Ira Gershwin) 3:01
8. Time After Time (Sammy Cahn-Jule Styne) 2:43
9. I Get Along Without You Very Well (Hoagy Carmichael) 2:56
10. My Funny Valentine (Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart) 2:18
11. There Will Never Be Another You (Harry Warren-Mack Gordon) 2:57
12. The Thrill is Gone (Lew Brown-Ray Henderson) 2:49
13. I Fall In Love Too Easily (Sammy Cahn-Jule Styne) 3:18
14. Look For the Silver Lining (Buddy Desylva-Jerome Kern) 2:38

Label: Jazz Images
Released: 1954/2016