Chet Baker - Late Night Jazz [2LP]

Late Night Jazz finds Chet Baker in the small hours of his story, a quiet 1988 Paris session that for decades was barely heard outside Norway. It arrives here as a double vinyl set.

The date grew out of a Norwegian project initiated by poet Jan Erik Vold, and Baker was joined by guitarist Philip Catherine, pianist Egil Kapstad and bassist Terje Venaas. It took place only months before his death, which lends every phrase extra weight, though the playing itself is unhurried and often surprisingly light on its feet.

The material mixes standards with a few left-field originals. "Skylark" opens the set with a slow, burnished glow, and "If You Could See Me Now" is pure late-period Chet, all breath and restraint. He sings on a brisk "How High the Moon", while "My Foolish Heart" drifts by at a smoky ballad tempo that suits his fragile tone perfectly. The fourth side gathers alternate takes, a welcome peek behind the curtain.

There is no showboating anywhere on these sides, only four players listening hard to each other in a small room.

Baker devotees get a precious late chapter at last given proper attention. Newer listeners get an ideal companion for the hour after everyone else has gone to bed, when a trumpet this soft makes the most sense.