Chet Baker Ensemble collects all the tracks recorded by trumpeter
Chet Baker and his group on a session for Pacific Jazz in late December of 1953. Having been released piecemeal on various albums over the years, this represents the first complete gathering of this material. Recorded less than two months before the legendary Chet Baker Sings sessions, these tracks showcase the young
Baker as a hardcore jazz trumpeter before the public became overwhelmingly infatuated with his unique vocal abilities. Featuring first-rate "West Coast"-style arrangements by tenor saxophonist
Jack Montrose -- who also composed many of the songs -- the septet seems to combine the jocular interplay of
Baker's work with saxophonist
Gerry Mulligan with the hip, swinging work popularized by the large ensembles of trumpeter
Shorty Rogers. Besides
Montrose, backing
Baker here are saxophonists
Herb Geller and
Bob Gordon, bassist
Joe Mondragon, drummer
Shelly Manne, and pianist
Russ Freeman. Rating alongside the best of
Baker's catalog,
Chet Baker Ensemble is a must-hear for both longtime fans and neophytes of the iconic trumpeter/vocalist's work. ~ Matt Collar