In the Los Angeles Times, Book Review section of today's paper, two new books on Chet Baker were reviewed. One was a biography about him, long after I knew him and during the time that I no longer had any contact with him. The other was a mystery based loosely on the events surrounding his death in Amsterdam in 1988.
When I met him, he was in the army and was based at Fort Mason, might have been the Presidio. I am recollecting from memory and not from historical research. This must have been 1951 or 52 at the latest. He was not yet famous in any way except that in the San Francisco Jazz world, the word spread that an amazing trumpet player was in town. I was 18 or 19 at the time and he was about three years older. Jamming with Chet was a marvelous experience that I recall even now. Although he became later known for he way with expressive, slow ballads,he was then, more than anything a fast nimble player with an endless flow of ideas. He also lived the life that epitomized the spirit of doing things the way you'd like. He was hampered by his connection to the army, but did manage to get off enough to do a lot of jamming in the Bay Area. We played together a number of times during that year or so.
I remember once that Chet invited me and another musician friend of mine, up to his hotel room in San Francisco. He had a bed at the base but rented a room to get away. I had no idea if he did this often or not. It was a businessman's hotel in the Tenderloin district. My friend and I went up to his room and Chet welcomed us and introduced us to two drop dead gorgeous blondes in his room. They were not flashy but just beautiful. I found it very hard to be cool and tried not to stare nor to let my eyes roll around in my head too much. We chatted for a while and then left. For long afterwards I wondered if this was the sort of luck one had if you were lucky enough to become a great jazz musician. Years later upon reflection, I deduced that the girls must have been hookers and that Chet was not just showing off, but was allowing us to share in some way, his happiness.
The following year, Chet became well-known because of the recordings he made with there Gerry Mulligan group, very revolutionary at the time because it consisted of baritone sax, trumpet, bass and drums, and no piano. I was then 19 and had just been married a few months when the Mulligan Quartet came to town, so we went to hear them at the Blackhawk. I remember that Chet came over to talk to us and in his typical cool and cryptic way just said, "You two sure look pretty together.
In 1955 I was in grad school at UCLA There I met Vaughn (Bob) Whitlock, who had been the bassist in the Muilligan quartet and was also, like me, working on his Ph. D. there. Immersed in grad school now, I did little playing anymore and did not keep up with things as I had up until then. As I now recall it was Vaughn who told me that Chet had made a 45 in Germany with Catarina Valente. She was then already an international superstar and in my opinion an excellent singer, although most of what she recorded was international pop hits and of little interest to me at the time. Those two short duos, just Chet on trumpet and Catarina Valente playing guitar and singing I continue to record as one of the most valuable moments preserved on sound recordings. Here in 1955, some years before Stan Getz and even Miles Davis and Gil Evans forays into Bossa Nova, Catarina is propelling the performance all by herself with a driving guitar backup in Bossa Nova style and singing in manner both very cool and complimenting Chet's trumpet. I have only an old reel-to-reel tape dub of the original 45 and the quality is not good. It appears now to have been re-released on a giant collection of recordings of Catarina Valente. But that costs several hundred dollars and it seems a lot to pay only to hear a better version of "I'll Remember April".
I am including my dub of the old 45 here for the pleasure of anyone who might enjoy it.
SESSION 53-MARCH 26,1956-GERMANY
Catherine Valente(voc-g)Chet Baker(tp)
'll Remember April
Everytime We Say Goodbye
Thanks to Nick Falcon who sent me a message saying that one could now
buy the Baker Valente duos at the following site.
http://www.chetbaker.org/chet_baker_the_50s.htm
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