Chet Baker - Chet Baker Quartet (Chet Baker in Paris Vol. 1)

Chet Baker Quartet captures the trumpeter in Paris in 1955, leading one of the most adventurous bands of his career. This limited edition presents the session on a single LP.

Recorded at the Pathé-Magellan studio during his European tour and first issued by Barclay that year, the album pairs Baker with pianist Dick Twardzik, bassist Jimmy Bond and drummer Peter Littman. Twardzik died in Paris that same month, which turns these sessions into a poignant final document of a strikingly original pianist. Later issues billed it as Chet Baker In Paris Vol. 1, and its reputation has only grown.

This is cooler, more angular material than the vocal ballads that made Baker famous. "Rondette" and "Mid-Forte" unfold with intricate, almost chamber-like writing, while "Sad Walk" and "The Girl From Greenland" let his soft, burnished tone float over Twardzik's searching chords. Elsewhere the band pushes the tempo, the quartet locking into a light but restless swing that keeps the improvising sharp and surprising.

Twardzik's playing is the revelation, full of oblique turns and dark harmonies that pull Baker somewhere new.

For anyone who knows Chet only from Chet Baker Sings, this is an eye-opening companion, and a reminder of how daring cool jazz could be.