JazzHQ: Allaboutjazz Musician Of The Day

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Allaboutjazz Musician Of The Day - Chet Baker

Chesney Henry “Chet” Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 in Yale, Oklahoma, died May 13, 1988 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands) was an American jazz musician.

Raised in a musical household in Oklahoma (his father was a guitar player), and coming of age in Southern California during the bebop era of jazz, Baker found success as a trumpet player in 1951 when he was chosen by Charlie Parker to play with him for a series of West Coast engagements. In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon. Baker became famous on the strength of his solo on their recording of My Funny Valentine, a piece he was later said to “own”. The Quartet, however, lasted less than a year because of Mulligan's arrest on drug charges. In 1954, Baker won the Downbeat Jazz Poll, beating Miles Davis among others. Over the next few years, Baker fronted his own combo, playing trumpet and singing. He became an icon of the west coast “cool school” of jazz, helped by his good looks and singing talent. By the early 1960s, Baker had begun playing the fluegelhorn, as well....>The entire article at allaboutjazz.com