Tribute To Chet Baker

Another gem from the creative Beegie Adair and her trio. This time, she is accompanied by Jeff Steinberg and his orchestra. A loving tribute to Tony Bennett and his illustrious career. As usual, Beegie includes one selection on the album where she plays solo piano and she picked 'I Left My Heart In San Francisco'. A beautiful rendition. This is a great album tinged with jazz overtones without losing the melodic memories of Tony's original sound. The orchestra is perfectly balanced and adds just the right touch while still allowing the familiar Beegie Adair Trio sound to shine through. If you are new to Beegie's music, this album will make you a convert to her impeccable sound and those like myself, have added it as another gem to her large catalog of great music.

Japanese jazz pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, who has been highly acclaimed overseas and whose past catalog is undergoing remarkable reevaluation, released this masterpiece in 1992, recorded in Japan with John Clayton and Billy Higgins. The highlight of the album is a tribute to Chet Baker featuring Mickey Curtis on vocals.

ACT has always boasted an impressive roster of jazz pianists: Esbjörn Svensson, Jan Lundgren, Ramon Valle, Kevin Hays, Don Friedman, Richie Beirach, Vijay Iyer, Joachim Kühn, Michael Wollny. This exclusive list now also includes one of the best Italian jazz musicians around, one who stands alongside globally renowned names such as Stefano Bollani and Enrico Pieranunzi - the Roman pianist Danilo Rea. Since his 1975 debut in the Trio di Roma group with bass player Enzo Pietropaoli and drummer Roberto Gatto, Rea has established himself internationally. Even though he has only performed in the USA three times, he has played with many US stars in Europe from Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Steve Grossman and Michael Brecker to Billy Cobham, Gato Barbieri, Joe Lovano, Kenny Wheeler and John Scofield…

Italian trumpeters Enrico Rava and Paolo Fresu pay tribute to the late Chet Baker – but take it from us, the set's way more than just a simple tribute album! Some of the tunes might be familiar ones from Chet's book, but the performances here are often distdemoinctly un-Baker-like – taken at times, tempos, and tones that really push the envelope – and which make the album more of a nstration of the instrumental strengths of Rava and Fresu than a return to Chet's earlier sound.