Carson City

Chet Baker - The Complete Pacific Jazz Live Recordings of The Chet Baker Quartet with Russ Freeman (1954) {3CD Mosaic MD3-113 rel 1986}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 745 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 413 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 25 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954, 1986 Pacific Jazz / Mosaic Records | MD3-113
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet / Piano

The independent jazz reissue label Mosaic Records garnered a rightful reputation as industry leaders and enthusiast favorites with deluxe and strictly limited-edition packages such as this one. The contents of this four-LP/three-CD collection are derived from two performances during the summer of 1954 and feature the Chet Baker Quartet: Baker (trumpet/"boom bam" percussion), Russ Freeman (piano), Carson Smith (bass), and Bob Neel (drums). The two performances – recorded July 21 at Santa Cruz's Civic Auditorium and August 10 at The Tiffany Club in Los Angeles, respectively – are presented chronologically.

Whether as a trumpeter or singer, Chet Baker was always the subject of controversy among jazz listeners, a victim of fashion who was doomed in his lifetime to be either over- or underrated. These Pacific Jazz recordings from the mid-1950s present Baker the instrumentalist at the height of his popularity. While his coolly passive treatments of ballads like "Imagination" and "Stella by Starlight" may play to the languid stereotype of West Coast jazz, there's boppish fire and invention on the medium- and up-tempo tunes, with Baker emphasizing the middle register that was his forte. Altoist Art Pepper and valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer turn up among the supporting cast, and there's a good choice of material by boppish heads from both coasts, including Carson Smith's "Carson City Stage," Jimmy Heath's "C.T.A.," and Al Haig's "Jumping Off a Clef".

Chet Baker - Out Of Nowhere, Chet Baker Quartet Live, Volume 2 (1954) {Pacific Jazz 27693 rel 2001}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 278 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 137 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 18 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954, 2001 Pacific Jazz / Capitol Records | 7243 5 27693 2 2
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

3 great Pacific Jazz CD's chronicling Chet Baker and Russ Freeman's live performances. This is where you really start to hear Chet find his own sound. He starts branching out on the two My Funny Valentine's found here, and his recordings of Stella By Starlight sound like the one's he did in the 1980's. The recording quality is pretty average in Volume 1, but it improves in Volume 2 and 3, especially considering how noisy American Jazz clubs used to be. Zing Went The Strings of My Heart is amazing, and it's one the fastest tempo tune Baker ever recorded. On several cuts, he plays the "Boo-bams", a bongo-type instrument invented by his friend Bill Loughborough.