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Chet Baker, 1929-1988
With the light, breathy sound of his trumpet and his wistful singing voice, Chet Baker helped define West Coast jazz in the 1950s, proving nearly as influential to the birth of cool jazz as Miles Davis. Baker gained his first exposure to jazz while serving as a U.S. Army band member. After leaving the military in 1951, he went to Los Angeles, where the opportunity to play with Charlie Parker effectively launched his career. In 1952 Gerry Mulligan tapped Baker to join him in fronting his influential pianoless quartet. Although Baker's association with Mulligan was brief, it produced a major hit -- "My Funny Valentine" -- that became Baker's signature. He formed his own quartet in 1953 and saw his popularity soar until acute drug addiction largely derailed his career. Baker struggled to rebuild his embouchure after a severe beating in 1968 claimed most of his teeth. Two decades later, he died after falling from a second-story window. |