Chet Baker / Chet Is Back

AllMusic Review by Matt Collar

Recorded in Italy in 1962, Chet Is Back! showcases the "cool" trumpeter cutting loose on such bop-oriented workouts as "Pent-Up House" and "Well, You Needn't." Backed skillfully by a young cadre of up-and-coming European musicians, including the stellar saxophonist Bobby Jaspar, Chet Baker may have never sounded better, including on the ballads. One listen to "Over the Rainbow" and it's clear this is an overlooked Baker classic. [Fans should check out the 2003 reissue of Chet Is Back!, which includes four orchestral pop bonus tracks Baker recorded with Ennio Morricone around the same time as this session.]

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Chet Baker
Chet Is Back 

 

Background   

Chet Is Back! was recorded in Rome, Italy in 1962 at RCA's Studios, showcasing bop-oriented tunes such as "Pent-Up House" and "Well, You Needn't". The Chet Baker Sextet consisted of a group of up-and-coming European jazz musicians, which included Belgian saxophonist Bobby Jaspar, Belgian guitarist Rene Thomas, Italian pianist Amedeo Tommasi, French bassist Benoit Quersin, and Swiss drummer Daniel Humair.

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Track listing  

1. "Well, You Needn't" (Thelonious Monk) - 6:23
2. "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" (Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey) - 4:56
3. "Barbados" (Charlie Parker) - 8:26
4. "Star Eyes" (Don Raye, Gene de Paul) - 6:58
5. "Over the Rainbow" (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) - 3:30
6. "Pent-Up House" (Sonny Rollins) - 6:51
7. "Ballata in forma di blues" (Amedeo Tommasi) - 10:06
8. "Blues In the Closet" (Oscar Pettiford) - 7:41

Bonus Tracks on some CD reissues

9. "Chetty's Lullaby" (Chet Baker, Alessandro Maffei) - 4:04
10. "So che ti perderò" (Baker, Maffei) - 4:16
11. "Motivo su raggio di luna" (Baker, Maffei) - 3:53
12. "Il mio domani" (Baker, Maffei) - 5:21

Personnel    

Tracks 1-8   

• Chet Baker – trumpet
• Bobby Jaspar - tenor saxophone, flute (except 2 & 5)
• Rene Thomas - guitar (except 5)
• Amedeo Tommasi – piano (except 2)
• Benoit Quersin – bass
• Daniel Humair – drums

Tracks 9-12

• Chet Baker – vocals, trumpet
• Ennio Morricone - Conductor
• Ennio Morricone and his Orchestra - strings, horns, percussion

Production notes   

• Daniel Baumgarten - producer (Tracks 1-8)
• Joshua Sherman - producer (Tracks 9-12)
• Jean-Pierre Chalbos - engineer (Tracks 1-8)
• Michael O. Drexler - engineer (Tracks 9-12)