BAKER, CHET

Much like Paul Desmond, trumpeter Chet Baker led two musical lives early in his career. One was to play foil to Gerry Mulligan's cool-headed, contrapuntal baritone saxophone, in the process lending some much-needed warmth to the celebrated piano-less quartet in which Baker first came to prominence in 1952. But the real Chet Baker, the far-from-abstract romantic and popular musician, emerged full-blown on this with-strings session in 1954. Baker doesn't sing on this date, not with his voice anyway. His burnished, mid-register trumpet gracefully leads the way through picture-perfect autumnal settings provided by young arrangers Marty Paich, Johnny Mandel and Shorty Rogers. The string section is actually a relatively modest nonet, equally balanced with the other players which include reedsmen Zoot Sims, Jack Montrose and Bud Shank as well as the gifted pianist Russ Freeman whose "The Wind" remains haunting 40 years after its debut here. Though the overall mood is a quiet, even pastoral one, Chet and company do get to stir the pot a bit on "Love" and "A Little Duet For Zoot And Chet." The latter was written for the occasion by Montrose and is a substantial addition to the cool jazz repertoire despite its tossed-off title.

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