As
Gerald Heard
's liner notes point out, it's difficult to decide whether
Chet Baker
was a trumpet player who sang or a singer who played trumpet. When the 24-year-old California-based trumpeter started his vocal career in 1954, his singing was revolutionary; as delicate and clear as his trumpet playing, with a similarly bright and vibrato-free tone,
Baker
simply didn't sound like any previous
jazz
singer. His first vocal session, recorded in February 1954 and covering tracks seven through 14 of this disc, is so innocent-sounding it's like cub reporter
Jimmy Olsen
had started a new career as a
singer. The album's first six tracks, recorded in July 1956, are even more milk and cookies, thanks in no small part to syrupy material like
Frank Loesser
's
"I've Never Been in Love Before"
and
Donaldson
/
Kahn
's drippy
"My Buddy."
Choices from the earlier session like
"My Funny Valentine"
-- arguably the definitive version of this oft-recorded song -- and
"There Will Never Be Another You"
work much, much better. The spacious musical setting, a simple trumpet and piano-bass-drums rhythm section, is perfect for
's low-key style. Despite the few faults of song selection,
Chet Baker Sings
is a classic of
West Coast cool jazz
. ~ Stewart Mason