I listened to him in Toronto at Bourbon Street jazz club one night, there were six or seven people in the club. different times.
@douglasrobinson87523 ай бұрын
What year was that?
@barflytom32737 ай бұрын
The documentary 'Let's Get Lost" is a must watch.
@nititornp72793 ай бұрын
i just came from finish that doc. sad but beautiful.
@miedgarful8 ай бұрын
I spoke to Chet when he played in Vancouver between sets in the early eighties. I liked his music.
@jeromealexandre41626 ай бұрын
What was he like ?
@Therecouldbehope27 күн бұрын
Chet saved many lives as he was losing his own. He is the equivalent of a Jazz Saint
@Jazzmaster588 ай бұрын
Hi, I am a Jazz musician and I was a heroin junkie and the comments on the video are very illustrative of the discrimination, bordering racism, that junkies are the victims of because people don't understand that junkies, are mental patients on self medication, which is a consequence of the lack of interest on dealing with mental disorder in general. Poverty plays a big part in this charade.
@cirocasarin8 ай бұрын
I'm sorry, mate. There's an excess of criticism and a lack of comprehension on social media. From a fellow jazz musician to another, all of my respect.
@adamburgins4418 ай бұрын
Junkies give and take
@jimrich41928 ай бұрын
Junkies are victims of early childhood or some kind of emotional TRAUMA & can be HELPED ...if they want it...most don't.... so be it... go where Chet & Bird went!!!! 😢
@pena.33028 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@rollyherrera6237 ай бұрын
I hope you understand "Was," actually means "I am." Stay sober brother, and don't forget how bad it was, and how easily it could be worse today...
@daccrowell47768 ай бұрын
Daaamn... that's some quality bio right there! You hit the important parts, kept things from going in the ditch when you started into Chet's heroin troubles...great sourcing on the visuals, background music, and importantly... it's obvious you're doing it for the music and not the clout. Best new bio/history I've run across on YT in the past couple of weeks! Ya did Chet proud, too. Props.
@onetrackjazz8 ай бұрын
Thank you, my friend
@spiceboi379511 күн бұрын
Not to be a hater but majority of this is ripped word for word from the Wikipedia article on Chet. Either this creator is the one that made the article or its just ripped off and put in a text-to-voice generator. I read through it while listening and it is literally the same
grateful that Elvis Costello wrote Almost Blue for him which is one of my favorites. There is so much pain and anguish and beauty in his instrument and vocals in that one
@garykooienga9990Ай бұрын
Their duet is timeless.
@waynshor70738 ай бұрын
Fantastic job again!Thank you.Amazing how chet improved his playing through the years.His playing got more and more simple and deep.He matured (musically) very well.I recomend specially his quartet with Duke Jordan on the steeplechase label where his solos are close to perfect!
@bruinsremco8 ай бұрын
Instead of James Gavin's book, I'd strongly recommend reading Jeroen de Valk's book about Baker, which gives a far better balanced view of Baker's character. For starters, De Valk is genuinely interested in Baker's music and person, instead of only being morbidly fascinated by his drugs habit. Furthermore, Gavin can't be accused of even having the slightest interest in Baker's music.
@jeffreywegener88418 ай бұрын
Thanks . Man was a huge talent & did it tough . Drug problems can destroy people creative people are particularly vulnerable. But the morbid negativity of many narratives contribute to the stigma & consequently less chance of recovery.
@michaelgarza82718 ай бұрын
That's rather unfortunate considering that he's one of the greatest artists of the 20th century...
@michaelwilson23408 ай бұрын
Well his drug use did overshadow his career. He blew it. Sort of like the Johnny Thunders of jazz.
@Rondo2ooo8 ай бұрын
@michaelwilson2340 So, what is more important for you? Listen to what he accomplished and played so far, or personal tragedy. The latter is for the yellow press only.
@bruinsremco8 ай бұрын
@@Rondo2ooo Amen!
@Dave_Hepler8 ай бұрын
He made soft singing important- naturally letting his easy horn sound happen. Charlie Parker selected him out of scores of West Coast cats to play w him. Lived much longer than Clifford but maybe not that much longer living life rights- that warm ballad sound!!!!!
@timages7 ай бұрын
I've only know him from those final tragic years, this bio clip was very informative regarding what a fine musician he was, ( you don't get picked by the great Charlie Parker if you don't have game). It turns out that 1955 was a pivotal year for Chet, had he kept a foot in Hollywood who knows how his life might have turned out. He had the 50s heartthrob looks and that soft vocal style. He could have starred in a series of films, Elvis with a trumpet. It was both shocking and surprising to hear about his relationship with women, ...from the music he made I wasn't expecting that. Sad all around.
@OlafVantVeer-f3d4 ай бұрын
Haha, as if a Hollywood career is the high point of everything. He strived for musical and artistic integrity; much more important.
@socorrocastorena38624 күн бұрын
Didn't he have a child with his girlfriend? Whatever happened to his child? He was an amazing talent and gifted musician. He makes me cry with his singing and playing. I loved Ethen Hawke's portrayal of him in the movie , "Born To Be Blue". It's a must see film. Tortured Sould. RIP Chet Baker ❤❤❤
@markburnham75128 ай бұрын
I have known a few true musicians in my life, and my experience has been that they need to be musicians and can't be anything else. They answer a different call and cannot conform to anything resembling the "square life", frequently at their own peril and the heartbreak of those who love them. All we can do is appreciate what their gift has left for us. Baker was such.
@mayazzow21297 ай бұрын
No truer or accurate words have been said regarding musicians.
@Alpha-AndromedaАй бұрын
I guess classical musicians are not true musicians then… when are you planning on breaking this news to them … ?!
@barrypaton97267 ай бұрын
My Funny Valentine. I loved his music.
@andrewhockenberry64768 ай бұрын
left us with so much...
@jimrich41928 ай бұрын
...left us with a dire warning = GET HELP BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! 😂
@mongoharry4 ай бұрын
Like Sting said, we're "Fragile".
@ronaldboykin97558 ай бұрын
I met Chet Baker back in the mid 70s at Carlos Santana’s rehearsal house in San Francisco. It was obviously there to cop some drugs and it was clear to me he was strung out! He had a beautiful voice and a smooth tough to the trumpet!
@alexkalish82888 ай бұрын
He was a heroin addict for the last 20 years of his life. No one had more soul. One of my favorites ever - This is a wonderful video of his career.
@MassiveChetBakerFan7 ай бұрын
You skipped over 1980-1988, which in my view was the highlight of his career, when he produced his most sublime work. Check out his many recordings in this period of Sad Walk, Estate, Leaving, Night Bird, Round Midnight, Arborway, etc. They are incredible.
@msmith534 ай бұрын
Chet was one of the great and inspirational leaders of West Coast Jazz style. Pepper, Mulligan, Getz, et al. were innovators in the ‘50’s. Cool Talent and skilled player who contributed much to the game. Many cannot understand the frustration of playing at such levels and having to play “background” music to drunks who talk over your best stuff as a way to make a living. Don’t judge from afar if you can’t understand!!
@privatedetective651620 күн бұрын
A guy told me he heard Shorty Rogers perform many times at the Lighthouse, and Shorty DEMANDED silence from the crowd.
@mxmllrguitar8 ай бұрын
Keep uploading these great videos! I would also love longer versions in the future. Could you do a video about the life of Grant Green?
@djhoneylove57108 ай бұрын
This was a good video. Thanks Alexander.
@jimmyguitar29338 ай бұрын
I saw Chet Baker at a small jazz club in San Francisco towards the end of his life ('84-ish). He looked like hell, had no teeth, but could still play and (more or less) sing.
@richsackett34238 ай бұрын
When I had a recording studio about 15 years ago, one of the pictures on the wall was a framed cutout of You Can't Go Home Again. That picture was a caution that you can be the most talented and successful mf ever yet destroy every last bit of it with drugs until you area literal shadow of your former self.
@adamburgins4418 ай бұрын
Sad
@jimrich41928 ай бұрын
It's not DRUGS that destroy you, it's UNHEALED TRAUMA that destroyed many greats who were unable or unwilling to find some HELP. 😮
@DavidAndersoniiVI6 ай бұрын
Chet had the coolest licks of em all!
@redstar72927 ай бұрын
There is no true beauty without decay. Jung had a theory that highly creative people can have a this destructive shadow. Some how he's more memorable for what he was with his chasmic flaws & faults, than simply being the clean cut, angelic trumpeter.
@Packyboy8 ай бұрын
Nice work. Thank you.
@ninakim72826 ай бұрын
GREAT!
@rafaelrieck66558 ай бұрын
Eine Story toll erzählt. Great musician and great storyteller!
@Sonperson5 ай бұрын
thank u
@nazbowie96208 ай бұрын
Great job man! New subscriber. Looking forward to dipping into the past vids.
@onetrackjazz8 ай бұрын
thank you my friend, enjoy!
@ISuperTed5 ай бұрын
It’s strange, but his playing in the last few years, despite all the abuse of his body by the drugs, were IMHO his very best. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve played his Live at Ronnie Scotts recording along with the fantastic big band concerts close to his death. I know many say he copied and was influenced hugely by Miles (who is my all time favourite), but I don’t think that at all. Chet had his own unique way of playing and there still isn’t anyone who could interpret and get such feeling out of standards.
@msmith534 ай бұрын
Yes!
@Da_Publick8 ай бұрын
The worst thing you can do as a 'customer' is to beat people out of their money.
@jimrich41928 ай бұрын
Show me his childhood & relationship with his parents & I can & will say exactly what happened to/for him & WHY. His good/Bad relations with women show me that something was VERY WRONG between him & his mom & perhaps his dad as well. He looks to me like a seriously WOUNDED CHILD & that usually begins at home with TRAUMATIC PARENTING. Shame he never got the kind of help that is available these days for survivors of CHILHOOD POST TRAUMATIC STRESS IMO, his entire life was all about a TRAUMATIZED CHILDHOOD with TRAUMATIZED PARENTS!! 😢😢😢😢
@JulieCarey-y1n26 күн бұрын
Absolutely
@beerybill8 ай бұрын
I was in Paris late 1963 and learned Baker was playing at a spot I recall as the Fishing Cat. Sorry, but I don't speak French and that may not be exactly the correct name. There were three musicians. Baker playing flugelhorn, trombone, and drummer. After the first tune (Baker sounded great) the drummer split and the following tune was a duo with Baker playing drummer via brushes on a chair during the trombone solo. Soon after the trombone player split followed by Baker and then yours truly.
@eximusic8 ай бұрын
C'mon - Bill Evans, Lennie Tristano, Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck long before Chet.
@evanherb59008 ай бұрын
Nah.
@marknewton69847 ай бұрын
Good list 😎
@wraithstrongopark8 ай бұрын
"every girl's crazy bout a sharp dressed man!"
@kimgill20218 ай бұрын
good work keep it up !
@christopherbarker1818 ай бұрын
A crying shame! Sure he accomplished a lot but can you imagine a Chet Baker clean! Clifford Brown as well as many new jazz artists have proven that you don't have to rely on drugs to be great! I can only imagine.😥
@zivkovicable8 ай бұрын
Heroin never made anyone play better.
@jimrich41928 ай бұрын
For me, "clean" means: EMOTIONALLY HEALED or perhaps TRAUMA FREE. That often requires HELP! AA helped me! 😮
@christopherbarker1818 ай бұрын
@@jimrich4192 I don’t dismiss the demons he had I just wonder why. He was in the Army and played with the Army band and appeared to have a good upbringing. I am a trumpet player myself and admire the talent he had. It’s the same question I ask about Joni Mitchell….she had a voice from God and couldn’t put down those blasted cigarettes. Bix Beiderbecke was the same way…dead at 28 from alcohol. Look what Art Blakey used to do; he supported his players habits then spent their money on his habit; I’m surprised anyone wanted to work with him. Thanks for the comment!
@zivkovicable8 ай бұрын
@@jimrich4192 Yes it's almost impossible without some kind of support. AA helped me quit. One to one psychotherapy helped with the past trauma i had buried. I can now cope, but I would not describe myself fully emotionally healed, and that's perhaps too high an expectation. But at least now the good days considerably outweigh the bad. & that thought pulls me through crisis. .
@adrianronquillo5078 ай бұрын
This cat could've been a huge star but he didn't want to play the showbiz game...
@jameshudkins22108 ай бұрын
He was too wasted and flaky.
@zivkovicable8 ай бұрын
He played the game more than some. Posed and styled photo shoots. Recording easy listening pop tunes...He just kept forgetting to turn up because he was an addict. . .
@adrianronquillo5078 ай бұрын
@@zivkovicable they offered him movie contracts recording contracts...he wasn't that into it ...hence he didn't play the showbiz game
@jamescampoccio11528 ай бұрын
He chose the artist's road, not the entertainers. The drug habit didn't make the road any better, or any worse.
@jimrich41928 ай бұрын
Brakers message for me: "Do not live an entire life & then die with UNHEALED TRAUMA...FIND HELP... IT'S AVAILABLE! " ❤
@bobbibaker46857 ай бұрын
Elliott Smith's voice has been compared Baker's.
@nielskjr54328 ай бұрын
A few months before his death he was recording with the German Radio Bigband. They couldn't understand why Chet Baker didn't turn up for the sessions. Well, it turned out the doorman wouldn't let him in. He looked really bad, like a homeless person.
@FPoP19117 ай бұрын
Ok I clicked on this and as a jazz and chet fan that got me here, that voice and narration got me subbed in like... the first 10 seconds.
@webstercat8 ай бұрын
Heroine addiction never ends well.. I find him brilliant and disgusting at same time. His music brings despair when hear it so I avoid it.
@sublimeister96308 ай бұрын
Look at the Rolling Stones… Mick Jagger looks far worse than him. 😂
@IndianOutlaw18708 ай бұрын
Baker looked worse at 58 than even Jagger did.
@volpeverde64418 ай бұрын
probably owed money.... he was PUSHED....
@walterhayley72528 ай бұрын
Lots of rumors and theories have Baker being thrown from his window by unpaid drug dealers. Either way, a very sad ending...
@krusher748 ай бұрын
Kidz. say no to drugs!
@alexcarter88078 ай бұрын
All Chet had to do was emulate his friend Dizzy Gillispie, who was a good money manager, took pride in being dependable, and was a hell of a trumpet player too. Dizzy could play high, but he'd be in tune up there, take note some of you whistling tea kettles. Chet could have done very, very well for himself.
@jimrich41928 ай бұрын
All Chet had to do was GO FOR HELP! ....like some other DAMAGED ppl did! 😮
@rogersabbath442 ай бұрын
Can you please 🙏 do a video on Gerry Mulligan
@onetrackjazz2 ай бұрын
coming soon my friend, thanks for the suggestion!
@spiceboi379511 күн бұрын
This is word for word taken from the Wikipedia article on Chet
@temporoboto8 ай бұрын
💙
@steveconn7 ай бұрын
Such a sad narcissistic guy (Deep In A Dream such a depressing book) but beautiful talent ❤
@rvbsoundfactory7 ай бұрын
Oh boy.
@johnledford6944 ай бұрын
Pretty as James Dean, one of the very hottest jammers on the axe, a seductive and soothing voice, but long before those days he started messing with dope, with women. Whom he seemed to always mistreated women and was eternally unfaithful. Died at 58 on the street in Amsterdam fallen out of a window and crushed on the sidewalk. High or just careless? Pissed away all that talent and good looks, end the end looked like an old emaciated junkie. Where didja go, Chet? And why?
@michaelwilson23408 ай бұрын
Deep In A Dream is one of my favorite music biographies. A cautionary tale about the junkie lifestyle. I love his 50's and early 60's albums but the guy was a terrible human being. Especially the story of Baker abandoning his dog while on tour.
@clouddog23934 ай бұрын
A God given talent wasted by drug and drink abuse . The same old story once again . A great trumpet player and a good singer it's sad he could,nt fight or control he's addictions .
@mayazzow21297 ай бұрын
Tragic, albeit common story of a fantastic talent that dives into the deep of heroin.
@benlandro67767 ай бұрын
who are we to judge?
@focusonu96684 ай бұрын
,💯💯
@georgemilanez80337 ай бұрын
Excellent, from a closet clarinetist.
@rollyherrera6237 ай бұрын
A sad cliche'....When it's good; stay there....
@ganglestank8 ай бұрын
His death was never deemed an accident. The cause was speculated to be either a fall, a suicide attempt or a murder attempt. I should know, i’m related to him
@volpeverde64418 ай бұрын
CHET was never gonna make the system BIG MONEY....he just kept ticking over to pay for his jones....in the end he was PUSHED....owed dealers/record company, etc....probably....
@ganglestank8 ай бұрын
@@volpeverde6441 no it was miles davis who hired that group of people who knocked his teeth out, according to chet. That narrative is bullshit, it wasn’t dealers or record companies. He was the first person to ever learn how to play with dentures. That beating was supposed to cripple him as a musician and he didn’t let it, so they took the one think he surely couldn’t play without: his life
@barflytom32737 ай бұрын
ganglestant. he wasn't cleaning the windows that's for sure.
@ganglestank7 ай бұрын
@@barflytom3273 he would play his trumpet while sitting in the window, which he was known for. He had his trumpet clutched in his arms when he was found dead
@barflytom32737 ай бұрын
@@ganglestankalright. thank you for the information. appreciate it.
@JamesW2258 ай бұрын
A great among giants
@jj.d4 күн бұрын
Why is there some smooth nonsense playing in the background? This doesn't capture Chet's life at all. I appreciate the effort.
@Mike49if8 ай бұрын
Played trumpet on and off my whole life. Love Chet's playing, truly an amazing sound and style. Don't like the singing, agree with Russ Freeman that it was a money-making gimmick. Even with the drugs he is one of the greatest. Chet, Miles and Clifford.
@ultrasignificantfootnote33788 ай бұрын
I think he decided to release himself out of the window , similar to the photographs.
@seattlebeard7 ай бұрын
I remember the disgraceful hipsters who appeared in the film Let's Get Lost showed him several photos of nude models and asked him if he'd had sex with them. He was embarrassed, but too polite and strung out to tell them to go to hell. It was disgusting exploitation. I got the impression he was only doing the film so he could score more drugs. At least on one can cheapen his music.
@sunscxpe.2 ай бұрын
Does anyone know if this is ai scripted ?
@onetrackjazz2 ай бұрын
none of my scripts are AI
@TomRivieremusic8 ай бұрын
Ruined his life over drugs.What a waste.
@tomcoryell8 ай бұрын
What? His dad had to get a job? What a travesty! Baker sure screwed Art Pepper over….
@marknewton69847 ай бұрын
Art Pepper:. Greatest ever 😎!
@chrisbrimhall16138 ай бұрын
His later years he looked like Charles Manson
@JulieCarey-y1n26 күн бұрын
…he sounded and played better with age…come fair weather 🌹🐝🌈
@psjasker8 ай бұрын
Not an indictment of the American Dream! Did he not have access to a church, a temple or an ashram? Not every man can handle freedom.
@sublimeister96308 ай бұрын
Kanye West would think otherwise about his mysterious death. 4-13-88… that’s quite esoteric number. The devil is always in the fine print of Fame & Wealth, from “generation to generation.” Good thing, he didn’t have children… 👍😎
@onetrackjazz8 ай бұрын
actually he did have children, but he also had a lot of different women in his life, that's a whole different video for the future
@tylernewcomb9739Ай бұрын
Actually 5-13-88
@patrickashby158 ай бұрын
Chet Baker was good musician but he was simply not in the same league as Dizzy Gillespie or Miles Davis or Clifford Brown
@phu320Ай бұрын
being a junkie doesnt make you a good horn player. I think his playing was weak every time I hear it.
@zeenuf008 ай бұрын
He died a drunk and a junkie like half the jazz world.
@jimrich41928 ай бұрын
He died of UNHEALED TRAUMA... like much of humanity has for eons!!!
@marknewton69847 ай бұрын
Jazz Life is tough.
@allenhanford7 ай бұрын
He was a great trumpeter but his singing was absolutely awful.
@fndngnvrlnd8 ай бұрын
The Great American Dream Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha The United States of Fentanyl.
@DavePocklington8 ай бұрын
Kensington and Skid row don't look like no dream to me.