This is the companion CD to the William Claxton book of the same title.
Personnel: Chet Baker (trumpet); Bill Perkins, Phil Urso (tenor saxophone); Jimmy Giuffre (clarinet); Russ Freeman, Bobby Timmons (piano); Jimmy Bond, Carson Smith (bass); Bob Neel, Peter Littman (drums); Bill Loughborough (chromatic tympani).
Producer: Richard Bock.
Compilation producer: Michael Cuscuna.
Recorded at Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, California on February 15, 1954 and The Forum Theatre, Los Angeles, California on July 24, 25 & 31, 1956. Includes liner notes by Michael Cuscuna.
Personnel: Chet Baker (trumpet); Jimmy Giuffre (clarinet); Phil Urso, Bill Perkins (tenor saxophone); Russ Freeman , Bobby Timmons (piano); Carson Smith (bass guitar); Rob Neel, Peter Littman (drums).
Liner Note Author: Michael Cuscuna.
Recording information: Capitol studios, Los Angeles, CA (02/15/1954-07/31/1956); Forum Theatre, Los Angeles, CA (02/15/1954-07/31/1956).
Unknown Contributor Role: Bill Loughbrough.
This 1995 release brings some Chet Baker rarities to CD for the first time while commemorating photographer William Claxton's eponymous book. Representing the jazz legend in his early years, the selections heard on YOUNG CHET are taken from two recording dates, the first in 1954, and the second two years later. Baker was 25 and 27 years old respectively.
This reissue is testament to Chet Baker's innate talent for music, including his ability to play trumpet with great lyrical insight and conceptual maturity. Always dedicated to reviving obscure tunes, he breathes new life into Kai Winding's 1949 composition, "A Night on Bop Mountain," employing the talents of Bill Loughborough on a percussion instrument known alternatively as the chromatic tympani or boobams. Baker also performs a light and airy version of Miles Davis' 1951 blues, "Down." An especially lively piano solo from Bobby Timmons marks the latter, while the trumpeter himself plays with an unerring melodic shrewdness.
