Chet Baker - The Complete Original Chet Baker Sings Sessions (Bonus Track Version) (2020)

This outstanding release contains all of baker's earliest sessions as a vocalist, taken from five different Los Angeles studio dates between October 1953 and July 1956. Quite possibly the most comprehensive collection we've ever seen of Chet Baker's legendary vocal work for Pacific Jazz in the 50s. Titles include 'My Funny Valentine', 'But Not for Me', 'Just Friends', 'Daybreak', 'My Ideal', 'This Is Always', 'My Buddy', 'I Fall in Love Too Easily', 'Look for the Silver Lining', and 'I Get Along Without You Very Well'. These sets showcase the delightful innocence and naivety of Baker's vocal sound during his early twenties, at the onset of his professional career, prior to the intense physical wear and tear and emotional turmoil caused by (or exacerbated by) a long term drug habit. Twenty of the twentyfour tracks included here feature Baker in a quartet setting with pianist Russ Freeman and a variety of bassists (Carson Smith, Joe Mondragon, Jimmy Bond) and drummers (Bob Neel, Shelly Manne, Peter Littman, Lawrence Marable). The CD's final four songs, included here as bonus tracks, feature Baker and Freeman in a quartet setting with an overdubbed string section that also boasted flautist Bud Shank and harpist Corky Hale.