Edited from Wikipedia
Chesney Henry Baker Jr. (December 23,
1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known
for his major innovations within the cool jazz subgenre leading him to be
nicknamed the "prince of cool".
Baker earned much attention and
critical praise through the 1950s, particularly for albums featuring his vocals
(Chet Baker Sings, It Could Happen to You). Jazz historian Dave Gelly described
the promise of Baker's early career as "James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix,
rolled into one."
His well-publicized drug habit also
drove his notoriety and fame. Baker was in and out of jail frequently before
enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and '80s.
In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry
Mulligan Quartet. Rather than playing identical melody lines in unison like
Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Baker and Mulligan complemented each other with
counterpoint and anticipating what the other would play next. "My Funny Valentine",
with a solo by Baker, became a hit and would be associated with Baker for the
rest of his career. With the Quartet, Baker was a regular performer at Los
Angeles jazz clubs such as The Haig and the Tiffany Club.
Within a year, Mulligan was arrested
and imprisoned on drug charges. Baker formed a quartet with a rotation that
included pianist Russ Freeman, bassists Bob Whitlock, Carson Smith, Joe
Mondragon, and Jimmy Bond, and drummers Larry Bunker, Bob Neel, and Shelly
Manne. Baker's quartet released popular albums between 1953 and 1956. Baker won
reader's polls at Metronome and Down Beat magazine, beating trumpeters Miles
Davis and Clifford Brown. In 1954, readers named Baker the top jazz vocalist.
In 1956, Pacific Jazz Records released Chet Baker Sings, an album that
increased his visibility and drew criticism. Nevertheless, Baker sang
throughout the rest of his career.
Hollywood studios saw an opportunity in
Baker's chiseled features. He made his acting debut in the film Hell's Horizon,
released in the fall of 1955. He declined a studio contract, preferring life on
the road as a musician. Over the next few years, Baker led his own combos,
including a 1955 quintet with Francy Boland, where Baker combined playing
trumpet and singing. In 1956 he completed an eight-month tour of Europe, where
he recorded Chet Baker in Europe.
In late 1959 he returned to Europe,
recording in Italy what would become known as the Milano Sessions with arranger
and conductor Ezio Leoni (aka Len Mercer) and his orchestra. Baker was arrested
for drug possession and jailed in Lucca, forcing Leoni to communicate through
the prison warden to coordinate arrangements with Baker as they prepared for
recording.
Baker said he began using heroin in
1957. Author Jeroen de Valk and pianist Russ Freeman say that Baker started
heroin in the early 1950s. Freeman was Baker's musical director after Baker
left the Mulligan quartet. Sometimes Baker pawned his instruments to buy drugs.
During the 1960s, he was imprisoned in Italy on drug charges and was expelled
from Germany and the UK on drug-related offences. He was deported to the U.S.
from Germany for getting into trouble with the law a second time. He settled in
Milpitas, California, performing in San Francisco and San Jose between jail
terms for prescription fraud.
In 1966, Baker was beaten, probably
while attempting to buy drugs, after performing at The Trident restaurant in
Sausalito. In the film Let's Get Lost, Baker said an acquaintance attempted to
rob him but backed off, only to return the next night with a group of men who
chased him. He entered a car and became surrounded. Instead of rescuing him,
the people inside the car pushed him back out onto the street, where the chase
continued. He received cuts and one of his teeth was cracked. This incident has
been often misdated or otherwise exaggerated partly due to his own unreliable
testimony on the matter.
The breaking of his tooth did, however,
ruin his embouchure, leaving him unable to play trumpet. He worked at a gas
station until concluding that he had to find a way back to music, and retrained
his embouchure.
After developing a new embouchure
resulting from dentures, Baker returned to the straight-ahead jazz that began
his career. He moved to New York City and began performing and recording again,
including with guitarist Jim Hall. Later in the 1970s, Baker returned to
Europe, where he was assisted by his friend Diane Vavra, who took care of his
personal needs and helped him during his recording and performance dates.
From 1978 until his death in 1988,
Baker lived and played almost exclusively in Europe, returning to the U.S. once
a year for a few performances. This was Baker's most prolific era as a
recording artist.
Early on May 13, 1988, Baker was found
dead on the street below his room in Hotel Prins Hendrik, Amsterdam, with
serious wounds to his head, apparently having fallen from the second story
window.
Heroin and cocaine were found in his
room and in his body. There was no evidence of a struggle, and the death was
ruled an accident. According to another
account he inadvertently locked himself out of his room and fell while
attempting to cross from the balcony of the vacant adjacent room to his own.
