This
Chet Baker CD is for collectors only. True to its name it delivers eight unissued tracks -- five of them extended workouts (if indeed they can be called that) -- none of them "My Funny Valentine." What is most interesting about this collection is that there are three separate bands here. There is one primarily American unit with
Kenny Drew, and
Larry Ridley (no drummer) and two different Italian units. On "For Minors Only,"
Enrico Rava sits in on a second trumpet and the two play lovely if languid lines around one another. In many ways, this is a disc for fans of Italian jazz more than
Baker fans because so many of these players who are now the pillars of the scene were just beginning their tenures during these years. Drummer
Roberto Gatto, bassist
Giovanni Tomasso, and pianist Mike Mellilo are here, just to name three. This is more a curiosity piece than anything else. ~ Thom Jurek