Chet Baker: Candy

Recorded in the intimate confines of the library of a Swedish recording company in Lidingö in 1985, this session for the Sonet Records label matches the trumpeter Chet Baker (sometime vocalist, but only once here—on the title tune) with two excellent European musicians, pianist Michel Graillier and bassist Jean Louis Rassinfosse. A junkie for several decades, with stints in jail and various other woes ravaging both his appearance (Baker was once matinee-idol handsome) and his playing, Baker had to develop his embouchure all over again after his teeth were knocked out in a beating and replaced by dentures. But he sounds great here, with playing that is consistently lyrical, adept, and strong—swift when it needs to be and contemplative elsewhere. The repertoire is fairly stock, but interesting arrangements and tight ensemble playing help keep Great American Songbook standards like “Love for Sale” (distinguished by a five-note ostinato bass pattern and fine piano and trumpet solos) and “Bye Bye Blackbird” fresh, while renditions of Bud Powell's up-tempo, boppish “Tempus Fugue-It” and Miles Davis's “Nardis” coast along like improvised chamber music. Also included are some brief interview bits, with Baker gently prodded by expatriate bassist Red Mitchell (who also joins in on piano for the closing “My Romance”). Among other things, the two musicians discuss playing with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's son, a jazz pianist (who knew?). Presented in Dolby Digital stereo, this is highly recommended. (S. Graham)