Chet Baker - She Was Too Good to Me - 180g Vinyl LP

Vinyl LP

Chet Baker was one of the most important representatives of the West Coast Cool Jazz movement. His heroin addiction is well documented with his exploits and misadventures wrapped in legendary anecdotes, but thankfully his life story never managed to overshadow his unmistakable talent. Chet Baker has one of the most recognisable sounds of all the jazz musicians in the cannon; his trumpet playing is intimate, simple and delicate with a hint of melancholy that tears at the heartstrings.
She Was Too Good To Me was released in 1974 on Creed Taylor’s CTI label after a 4 year absence from the scene. And what a comeback: excellent vocal Cool Jazz tunes are interlude with instrumental goodness from the undisputed master of the trumpet.

She Was Too Good To Me placed Baker in the company of contemporary alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, and the up-and-coming flautist Hubert Laws and pianist Bob James (playing electric piano). CTI’s house arranger Don Sebesky provided string charts for an eclectic mix of standards, vocals and instrumentals. Taylor definitely wanted to update the sound of Baker’s surrounding, doing so thoughtfully and with great care. Bassist Ron Carter and drummers Jack DeJohnette and Steve Gadd added a seamless post-bop background for Baker, and, for that matter, Desmond, who shares great empathy with Baker’s playing.

The recorded results were superb. James’ electric piano brightens “Autumn Leaves,” preparing the way for some of Baker’s most exciting solo ideas to date. Laws spars with Baker on tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley’s bop anthem “Funk in the Deep Freeze.” The song is played with a perfect balance of the West Coast cool Baker helped forge and the warmer climes of hard bop. While Baker remains safely in this middle and lower registers, his soloing at tempo is self-assured and spot-on harmonically.

Baker’s voice, an acquired taste to be sure, is in top form. Still possessing the boyish charm of his 1950s recordings, he has not deteriorated to the wheezy croak that would be considered de rigueur listening from his “late period.” He exudes absolute sweetness on the title piece and an uncommon sunniness on “With A Song In My Heart.” Hard to take seriously for the majority of his career, Baker hit a home run, if not a grand slam with She Was Too Good To Me. It is an immediately accessible and enjoyable recording by an important and controversial figure in jazz.

–C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz