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Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (Yale, Oklahoma
Yale, Oklahoma

Yale is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,342 at the United States Census, 2000....
, December 23, 1929 - Amsterdam
Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the Capital of the Netherlands and List of cities in the Netherlands with over 100,000 people of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands of North Holland in the west of the country....
, Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 May 13, 1988) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 trumpeter, flugelhorn
Flugelhorn

The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical Bore . Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the keyed bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus predating Adolphe Sax's innovative work....
 player and singer.

Specializing in relaxed, even melancholy music, Baker rose to prominence as a leading name in cool jazz
Cool jazz

During the Second World War, there was an influx of Californian jazz musicians to New York. Once there, these musicians mixed with the mostly black bebop musicians, but were also strongly influenced by the "smooth" sound of saxophonist Lester Young....
 in the 1950s. Baker's good looks and smoldering, intimate singing voice established him as a promising name in pop music
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
 as well. But his success was badly hampered by drug addiction
Drug addiction

Drug addiction is widely considered a Pathology. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute drug use to the development of drug-seeking behavior, the vulnerability to relapse, and the decreased, slowed ability to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli....
, particularly in the 1960s, when he was imprisoned.

He died in 1988 after falling from a hotel window.

r was born and raised in a musical household in Yale, Oklahoma
Yale, Oklahoma

Yale is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,342 at the United States Census, 2000....
; his father was a professional guitar player.






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Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (Yale, Oklahoma
Yale, Oklahoma

Yale is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,342 at the United States Census, 2000....
, December 23, 1929 - Amsterdam
Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the Capital of the Netherlands and List of cities in the Netherlands with over 100,000 people of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands of North Holland in the west of the country....
, Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 May 13, 1988) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 trumpeter, flugelhorn
Flugelhorn

The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical Bore . Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the keyed bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus predating Adolphe Sax's innovative work....
 player and singer.

Specializing in relaxed, even melancholy music, Baker rose to prominence as a leading name in cool jazz
Cool jazz

During the Second World War, there was an influx of Californian jazz musicians to New York. Once there, these musicians mixed with the mostly black bebop musicians, but were also strongly influenced by the "smooth" sound of saxophonist Lester Young....
 in the 1950s. Baker's good looks and smoldering, intimate singing voice established him as a promising name in pop music
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
 as well. But his success was badly hampered by drug addiction
Drug addiction

Drug addiction is widely considered a Pathology. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute drug use to the development of drug-seeking behavior, the vulnerability to relapse, and the decreased, slowed ability to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli....
, particularly in the 1960s, when he was imprisoned.

He died in 1988 after falling from a hotel window.

Biography


Early days

Baker was born and raised in a musical household in Yale, Oklahoma
Yale, Oklahoma

Yale is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,342 at the United States Census, 2000....
; his father was a professional guitar player. Baker began his musical career singing in a church choir. His father introduced him to brass instruments with a trombone
Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass instrument family. Like all brass instruments, it is a lip-reed aerophone: sound is produced when the player?s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate....
, which was replaced with a trumpet when the trombone proved too large for him.

Baker received some musical education at Glendale Junior High School, but left school at age 16 in 1946 to join the United States Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
. He was posted to Berlin
Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
 where he joined the 298th Army band. Leaving the army in 1948, he studied theory and harmony at El Camino College
El Camino College

El Camino College is a two-year public community college located in the city of Torrance, California in Los Angeles County, California, United States....
 in Los Angeles. He dropped out in his second year, and re-enlisted in the army in 1950. Baker once again obtained a discharge from the army to pursue a career as a professional musician. Baker became a member of the Sixth Army Band at the Presidio
Presidio of San Francisco

The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area....
 in San Francisco, but was soon spending time in San Francisco jazz clubs such as Bop City and the Black Hawk
Black Hawk (nightclub)

The Black Hawk was a legendary San Francisco nightclub hosting a spectacular range of jazz talents during its heyday from 1949 to 1963. It was located on the corner of Turk Street and Hyde Street in San Francisco's Tenderloin, San Francisco District....
.

Career breakthrough

Baker's earliest notable professional gigs were with saxophonist Vido Musso
Vido Musso

Vido William Musso was an Italy-born jazz tenor saxophone, clarinetist and bandleader born in Carini, Sicily, best-known for his many contributions to the big bands of Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Stan Kenton and Woody Herman....
's band, and also with tenor saxophonist
Tenor saxophone

The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the Alto saxophone, is the most common size of saxophone....
 Stan Getz
Stan Getz

Stanley Gayetzky or Stanley Gayetsky , usually known by his stage name Stan Getz, was an American jazz saxophone player. Known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, Getz's prime influence was the wispy, mellow tone of his idol, Lester Young....
, though he earned much more renown in 1951 when he was chosen by Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker

Charles Parker, Jr. was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.Parker is widely considered one of the most influential of jazz musicians, along with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington....
 to play with him for a series of West Coast engagements.

In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan

Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an United States jazz saxophonist, composer and arrangement.Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophone in jazz history - playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz - he was also a notable arranger, working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis,...
 Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon. Several things made the Mulligan/Baker group special, the most prominent being the interplay between Mulligan's baritone sax and Baker's trumpet. Rather than playing identical melody
Melody

In music, a melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity....
 lines in unison like bebop
Bebop

Bebop or bop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. It was developed in the early and mid-1940s....
 giants Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie [/g?'l?spi/] was an United States jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. He was born in Cheraw, South Carolina, the youngest of nine children....
, the two would complement each other's playing with contrapuntal
Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more Register that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony....
 touches, and it often seemed as if they had telepathy in anticipating what the other was going to play next. The Quartet's version of "My Funny Valentine
My Funny Valentine

For the album by Miles Davis, see My Funny Valentine "My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms....
", featuring a memorable Baker solo, was a major hit, and became a song with which Baker was intimately associated.

The Quartet found success quickly, but lasted less than a year because of Mulligan's arrest and imprisonment on drug charges. In 1954, Baker won the Downbeat Jazz Poll. Baker formed a quartet with Russ Freeman in 1953-54 with bassists like Carson Smith
Carson Smith

Carson Raymond Smith was an American jazz double-bassist.Smith's early work was in West Coast jazz, playing with Gerry Mulligan , Chet Baker , Russ Freeman , and Chico Hamilton ....
, Joe Mondragon
Joe Mondragon

Joe Mondragon is an United States jazz double bass.Mondragon was an autodidact on bass, and began working professionally in Los Angeles, California....
, and Jimmy Bond
Jimmy Bond

Jimmy Bond is a fictional character from the US television series The Lone Gunmen . He was an associate of The Lone Gunmen, Langly, Frohike and Byers....
 and drummers like Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne

Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American Jazz drumming. Most frequently associated with West coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, Swing music, bebop, avant-garde jazz and Jazz fusion, as well as contributing to the musical background of...
, Larry Bunker
Larry Bunker

Lawrence Benjamin "Larry" Bunker was an United States Jazz drumming, Vibraphone, and percussionist. He also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra....
, and Bob Neel. The quartet was successful in their three live sets in 1954. The first set was in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan. It is the state's seventh largest city with a population of 114,024 as of the 2000 United States Census, of which 36,892 are university or college students....
, and the other two in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
. In some songs in the set, Baker not only played trumpet, but also "boobam
Boobam

The boobam is a percussion instrument of the membranophone family consisting of an array of tubes with membranes stretched on one end, the other end open....
s", a set of little tuned drums made from bamboo wood. These were also used in some of his early studio recordings played by one of his percussionists. They were used until he retired them in late 1956. The final album which the novelty drums were used was Chet Baker and the Crew. Over the next few years, Baker fronted his own combos, including a 1955 quintet featuring Francy Boland
Francy Boland

Fran?ois Boland was a classically trained Belgian jazz composer and pianist.He first gained notice in 1949 and worked with Belgian jazz greats like Bobby Jaspar, and in 1955 he joined Chet Baker's quintet....
, where Baker combined playing trumpet and singing. He became an icon of the West Coast "cool school" of jazz
West coast jazz

West Coast jazz is a form of jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco at about the same time as hard bop jazz was developing in New York City, in the 1950s and 1960s....
, helped by his good looks and singing talent.

Drug addiction and professional decline

A heroin
Heroin

Heroin is a opioid synthesized from morphine, a derivative of the opium poppy. It is the 3,6-acetate ester of morphine . The white crystalline form is commonly the hydrochloride salt diacetylmorphine hydrochloride, however heroin Freebase may also appear as a white powder....
 user since the 1950s, the effects of drug addiction eventually caught up with Baker, and his promising musical career declined as a result. Baker would pawn his instruments for money to maintain his drug habit. In the early 1960s, he served more than a year in prison
Prison

A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or internment and usually deprived of a range of personal Freedom ....
 in Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 on drug charges, and was later expelled from both West Germany
West Germany

West Germany was the common English name for the Germany , from its formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when East Germany was dissolved and its States of Germany became part of the Federal Republic, ending the more than 40-year division of Germany....
 and England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 for drug-related offenses. Baker was eventually deported
Deportation

Deportation generally means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The expulsion of natives is also called banishment, exile, or penal transportation....
 from West Germany to the United States after running afoul of the law there a second time. He settled in Milpitas
Milpitas, California

Milpitas is a city in Santa Clara County, California. It is located with San Jose, California to its south and Fremont, California to its north, at the eastern end of California State Route 237 and generally between Interstates Interstate 680 and Interstate 880 which run roughly north/south through the city....
 in northern California
Northern California

Northern California or Nor Cal is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento, California; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the Sequoia forests, the North Coast, California, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada including Yosem...
 where he was active in San Jose
San Jose, California

San Jose or San Jos? is the List of cities in California city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States....
 and San Francisco
San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
 between short jail terms served for prescription fraud
Medical prescription

A prescription is a health-care program implemented by a physician or other medical practitioner in the form of instructions that govern the plan of care for an individual patient....
.

In 1966, Baker was severely beaten (allegedly while attempting to buy drugs) after a gig
Gig (musical performance)

'Gig' is a term commonly used by musicians with reference to their performances.The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians describes the term as meaning "A term commonly applied to a musical engagement of one night?s duration only; to undertake such an engagement." The first documented use of this term in this way appears in 1926: Melo...
 in San Francisco, sustaining severe cuts on the lips and broken front teeth, which ruined his embouchure
Embouchure

The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of a wind instrument.The word is of French language origin and is related to the root bouche , 'mouth'....
. Accounts of the incident vary, largely because of Baker's lack of reliable testimony on the matter. It has also been suggested that the story is a fabrication altogether, and that Baker's teeth had just rotted due to heavy substance abuse -- two missing teeth can be clearly seen in a 1964 performance in Belgium, Chet Baker: Live in 64 and 79, suggesting this is indeed the case. From that time he had to learn to play with dentures
Dentures

Dentures are Prosthesis devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity....
.

Between 1966 and 1974, Baker mostly played flugelhorn
Flugelhorn

The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical Bore . Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the keyed bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus predating Adolphe Sax's innovative work....
 and recorded music that could mostly be classified as early smooth jazz
Smooth jazz

Smooth jazz is a sub-genre of jazz which is influenced stylistically by Rhythm and blues, funk and pop music.Beginning in the early 1970s, it was an evolution into jazz with a modern, electronic sensibility....
 or mood music
Mood music

Mood music may refer to:*Beautiful Music*Easy listening*Exotica*Light musicExcess long comment to prevent listing on...
.

Comeback and later career

After developing a new embouchure due to his dentures, Baker returned to the straight-ahead jazz that began his career, relocating to New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 and began performing and recording again, notably with guitarist Jim Hall
Jim Hall (musician)

James Stanley Hall is an United States jazz guitarist....
. Later in the seventies, Baker returned to Europe where he was assisted by his friend Diane Vavra who took care of his personal needs and otherwise helped him during his recording and performance dates.

From 1978 onwards, Baker resided and played almost exclusively in Europe, returning to the USA roughly once per year for a few performance dates.

From 1978 to 1988 was Baker's most prolific era as a recording artist. However, as his extensive output is strewn across numerous, mostly small European labels, none of these recordings ever reached a wider audience, even though many of them were well-received by critics, who maintain that this was probably Baker's most mature and most rewarding phase. Of particular importance are Baker's quartet featuring the pianist Phil Markowitz
Phil Markowitz

Phil Markowitz is a jazz pianist and educator. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music and in 1979 had his "first big break" working with Chet Baker's band....
 (1978-80) and his trio with guitarist Philip Catherine
Philip Catherine

Philip Catherine is a Belgium jazz guitarist....
 and bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse (1983-85).

In 1983, British singer Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello is an England musician and singer-songwriter. Costello came to prominence as an early participant in London's Pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres, before establishing his own unique voice in the 1980s....
, a longtime fan of Baker, hired the trumpeter to play a solo on his song "Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding (song)

"Shipbuilding" is a song written by singer/songwriter Elvis Costello and producer Clive Langer. Written during the Falklands War of 1982, Costello's lyrics discuss the contradiction of the war bringing back prosperity to traditional shipbuilding areas of Merseyside , Tyneside and Belfast to build new ships to replace those being sunk in th...
", from the album Punch the Clock
Punch the Clock

Punch the Clock is an album released in 1983 by Elvis Costello. It was Costello's eighth album, his seventh with the Attractions since 1978....
. The song was a top 40 hit in the UK, and exposed a new audience to Baker's music. Later, Baker would often feature Costello's song "Almost Blue" (inspired by Baker's version of "The Thrill Is Gone
The Thrill Is Gone

"The Thrill is Gone" is a blues song written by Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins in 1951 and popularized by B. B. King in 1970. The song was first recorded by Hawkins and became a minor hit for the musician....
") in his live sets, and recorded the song on Let's Get Lost.

The video material recorded by Japanese television during Baker's 1987 tour in Japan showed a man whose face looked much older than he was; however, his trumpet playing was more alert, lively and inspired than ever before. Fans and critics alike agree that the live album Chet Baker in Tokyo, recorded less than a year before his death and released posthumously, ranks among Baker's very best.

Chet Baker's compositions included "Chetty's Lullaby", "Early Morning Mood", "Two a Day", "So Che Ti Perdero", "Il Mio Domani", "Motivo Su Raggio Di Luna", "The Route", "Freeway", "Blue Gilles", "Dessert", and "Anticipated Blues".

Death

At about 3:00 am on Friday May 13, 1988, Baker was found dead on the "Zeedijk", the street below his second-story room at the Prins Hendrik Hotel in Amsterdam
Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the Capital of the Netherlands and List of cities in the Netherlands with over 100,000 people of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands of North Holland in the west of the country....
, Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
, with serious wounds to his head. Heroin
Heroin

Heroin is a opioid synthesized from morphine, a derivative of the opium poppy. It is the 3,6-acetate ester of morphine . The white crystalline form is commonly the hydrochloride salt diacetylmorphine hydrochloride, however heroin Freebase may also appear as a white powder....
 and cocaine
Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine....
 were found in his hotel room, and an autopsy
Autopsy

An autopsy, also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction, is a medical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a Dead body to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present....
 also found these drugs in his body. There was no evidence of a struggle, and the death was ruled an accident. However, the lack of witnesses has fueled subsequent unsubstantiated rumors, including some suggesting that Baker was murdered or committed suicide
Suicide

Suicide is the intentional taking of one's own life. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"....
.

Baker's body was brought home for interment in the Inglewood Park Cemetery
Inglewood Park Cemetery

Inglewood Park Cemetery, founded in 1905, is at 720 E. Florence Avenue in Inglewood, California. , A number of notable people, including entertainment and sports personalities, have been interred or entombed here....
 in Inglewood, California
Inglewood, California

Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles, California. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908....
. A plaque outside the hotel now memorializes him.

Legacy

Jeroen de Valk has written a biography of Baker which is available in several languages: Chet Baker: His Life and Music is the English translation, Chet Baker: Herinneringen aan een lyrisch trompettist (remembrance of a lyrical trumpet player) is the Dutch edition (updated and expanded in 2007), and it is also published in Japan and Germany. James Gavin has also written a biography: Deep In A Dream — The Long Night of Chet Baker.

Chet's own "lost memoirs" are available in the book As Though I Had Wings, which includes an introduction by Carol Baker.

One of the chapters in Geoff Dyer
Geoff Dyer

Geoff Dyer is a British author. Educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, he lives in London. He is best known as the author of But Beautiful , which won the Somerset Maugham Award, and has been called the best book ever written about jazz....
's book But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz deals with Baker.

Baker was immortalized by the photographer William Claxton
William Claxton (photographer)

William Claxton...
 in his book Young Chet: The Young Chet Baker. An Academy Award-nominated 1988 documentary
Documentary film

Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and new media productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a televis...
 about Baker, Let's Get Lost
Let's Get Lost (film)

Let's Get Lost is a Cinema of the United States documentary film about the turbulent life and career of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker written and directed by Bruce Weber ....
, portrays him as a cultural icon of the 1950s, but juxtaposes this with his later image as a drug addict. The film, directed by fashion photographer Bruce Weber
Bruce Weber (photographer)

Bruce Weber is an United States fashion photographer and occasional filmmaker. He is most widely known for his ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Pirelli, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revlon, Gianni Versace, and Ralph Lauren, as well as his work for Vogue , GQ , Vanity Fair , Elle , Life , Interview , and Rolling Stone magaz...
, was shot in black-and-white
Black-and-white

Black-and-white is a number of monochrome forms in visual arts. Most forms of visual technology start out in black and white, then slowly evolve into color as technology progresses....
 and includes a series of interviews with friends, family (including his three children by third wife Carol Baker), associates and lovers, interspersed with film from Baker's earlier life, and with interviews with Baker from his last years.

Time after Time: The Chet Baker Project, written by playwright James O'Reilly, toured Canada in 2001 to much acclaim.

The musical play Chet Baker - Speedball explores aspects of his life and music, and was premiered in London at the Oval House Theatre
Oval House Theatre

The Oval House Theatre is a theatre directed by Karena Johnson in the London Borough of Lambeth. Its address is 52-54 Kennington, Oval, London, SE11 5SW....
 in February 2007, with further development of the script and performances leading to its revival at the 606 Club
606 Club

The 606 Club is a jazz club in Chelsea, London. It was originally in 606 Kings Road, but moved to 90 Lots Road in 1987. It is currently licensed for 165 people....
 in the London Jazz Festival
London Jazz Festival

The London Jazz Festival in association with BBC Radio 3 is a London-wide music festival held every November. It takes place in a variety of London venues, including larger concert halls - such as the Barbican Centre and the Royal Festival Hall - and smaller jazz clubs, such as Ronnie Scott's and Vortex Jazz Club....
 of November 2007.

Baker was reportedly the inspiration for the character Chad Bixby, played by Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner

Robert John Wagner is a Golden Globe- nominated prolific United States film and television actor of theatre and screen, who starred in movies, soap operas and television....
 in the 1960 film All the Fine Young Cannibals
All the Fine Young Cannibals

All The Fine Young Cannibals is a 1960 in film film directed by Michael Anderson , based on the novel by Rosamond Marshall starring Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, Susan Kohner, George Hamilton, and Pearl Bailey....
. Another film, to be titled Prince of Cool, about Chet's life, was cancelled as of January 2008.

Honors

  • In 1987, inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
  • 1989: elected to Down Beat
    Down Beat

    Down Beat is an United States magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years....
     Jazz Hall of Fame by that magazine's Critics Poll
  • In 2005 Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry
    Brad Henry

    Charles Bradford "Brad" Henry is the Governor of Oklahoma of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party , he was elected governor in 2002....
     and the Oklahoma House of Representatives
    Oklahoma House of Representatives

    The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house and larger body of the two houses of the Oklahoma Legislature, the other being the Oklahoma Senate....
     proclaimed July 2, 2005 as “Chet Baker Day”.
  • A group of Musicians from Northern Norway performed 'Chet Baker Tribute' at the Jazz Utsav in Bandra, Mumbai.


Discography

  • With Charlie Parker: Inglewood Jam: Bird and Chet Live at the Trade Winds (1952) (Fresh Sound FRS-CD 17)
  • With Al Haig: Chet Baker: Live at the Trade Winds (1952) (Fresh Sound FSCD1001)
  • Gerry Mulligan Quartet Featuring Chet Baker (1952) (Fantasy OJCCD-711-2)
  • Haig '53: the other piano-less quartet (1953) (Philology)
  • L.A get together (1953) (Fresh Sound)
  • Chet Baker & strings [bonus tracks] (1953) (Columbia/Legacy)
  • Chet Baker sings (1953) (Pacific)
  • Compositions and arrangements by Jack Montrose (1953) (Pacific Jazz)
  • Grey December (1953) (Pacific Jazz)
  • Quartet live, vol. 1: This time the dream's on me (1953) (Blue Note)
  • Witch doctor (1953) (Original Jazz Classics)
  • Chet Baker big band (1954) (Pacific Jazz)
  • Chet Baker sextet (1954) (Pacific Jazz)
  • Jazz at Ann Arbor (1954) (Pacific Jazz)
  • My funny Valentine (1954) (Philology)
  • Quartet live, vol. 2: Out of nowhere (1954) (Blue Note)
  • Quartet live, vol. 3: My old flame (1954) (Blue Note)
  • The trumpet artistry of Chet Baker (1954) (Pacific)
  • Chet Baker sings and plays with Bud Shank, Russ Freeman & strings (1955) (Pacific Jazz)
  • In Europe, 1955 (1955) (Philology)
  • At the Forum Theater (1956) (Fresh Sound)
  • Chet Baker & Crew (1956) (Pacific Jazz)
  • Chet Baker cools out (1956) (Boblicity)
  • Chet Baker in Europe (1956) (Pacific Jazz)
  • Chet Baker Sings
    Chet Baker Sings

    Chet Baker Sings is an album by jazz musician Chet Baker....
     (1956) (Pacific Jazz)
  • Live in Europe 1956 (1956) (Accord)
  • Playboys
    Playboys (1956 album)

    Playboys is a 1956 jazz album featuring trumpeter Chet Baker and saxophonist Art Pepper. The album was the third collaboration between Pepper and Baker, following the successes of The Route and Chet Baker Big Band....
     (1956) (Pacific Jazz)
  • Quartet: Russ Freeman/Chet Baker (1956) (Pacific Jazz)
  • The James Dean story (1956) (Blue Note)
  • Embraceable You (1957) (Pacific Jazz)
  • Pretty/groovy (1957) (World Pacific)
  • Chet (The lyrical trumpet of Chet Baker) (1958) (Original Jazz Classics)
  • Chet Baker in New York (1958) (Riverside/OJC)
  • Chet Baker introduces Johnny Pace
    Johnny Pace

    Johnny Pace was a vocal jazz of the 1950s and 1960s.Pace was born in Paterson New Jersey and served in the Army USO in Germany where he met his wife Anneliese Glaser, they traveled back to the states in 1954....
     (1958) (Original Jazz Classics)
  • Chet Baker meets Stan Getz (1958) (Verve)
  • Chet Baker sings it could happen to you (1958) (Riverside/OJC)
  • Theme music from « The James Dean story » (1958) (World Pacific)
  • Chet (1959) (Riverside)
  • Chet Baker in Milan (1959) (Jazzland/OJC)
  • Chet Baker plays (1959) (Riverside)
  • Chet Baker plays the best of Lerner and Loewe (1959) (Original Jazz Classics)
  • Chet Baker with fifty Italian strings (1959) (Original Jazz Classics)
  • Picture of heath (1961) (Pacific Jazz)
  • Chet is back! (1962) (RCA)
  • Chet is back! (1962) (Bluebird)
  • Somewhere Over the Rainbow (1962) (Bluebird)
  • Italian Movies (1962)
  • The most important jazz album of 1964/65 (1964) (Roulette Jazz)
  • Brussels 1964 (1964) (Landscape)
  • Chet Baker sings and plays (1964) (Colpix)
  • Stella by starlight (1964) (CMA)
  • Baby breeze (1965) (Limelight)
  • Baker's holiday: plays & sings Billie Holiday (1965) (EmArcy)
  • Boppin' with the Chet Baker quintet (1965) (Prestige)
  • Comin' on with the Chet Baker quintet (1965) (Prestige)
  • Cool burnin' with the Chet Baker quintet (1965) (Prestige)
  • Groovin' with the Chet Baker quintet (1965) (Prestige)
  • Smokin (1965) (Prestige)
  • A taste of tequila (1966) (World Pacific)
  • Hats off!!! (1966) (World Pacific)
  • Into my life (1966) (World Pacific)
  • Live at Pueblo, Colorado 1966 (1966) (Baker)
  • Quietly, there (1966) (World Pacific)
  • Polka dots and moonbeams (1967) (Jazzland)
  • Albert's house (1969) (Par)
  • Blood, Chet & tears (1970) (Verve)
  • She was too good to me (1974) (Columbia)
  • Once upon a summertime (1977) (Original Jazz Classics)
  • The best thing for you (1977) (A&M)
  • The incredible Chet Baker plays and sings (1977) (Carosellp)
  • At le Dreher (1978) (West Wind)
  • Broken wing (1978) (Inner City)
  • Live at Nick's (1978) (Criss Cross)
  • Live in Chateauvallon, 1978 (1978) (Esoldun)
  • Sings, plays: Live at the Keystone Korner (1978) (High Note)
  • Two a day (1978) (All live)
  • 79 (1979) (Celluloid)
  • Ballads for two (1979) (Sandra)
  • Chet Baker with Wolfgang Lackerschmid (1979) (Inakustik)
  • Day break (1979) (SteepleChase)
  • Live in Montmartre, vol. 2 (1979) (SteepleChase)
  • No problem (1979) (SteepleChase)
  • Someday my prince will come (1979) (SteepleChase)
  • The touch of your lips (1979) (SteepleChase)
  • This is always (1979) (SteepleChase)
  • Together (1979) (Enja Records
    Enja Records

    Enja Records is a Germany jazz record label based in Munich, Germany. It was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971, initially devoted to the Jazz avant-garde....
    )
  • With special guests (featuring Coryell, Williams & Williams) (1979) (Inakustik)
  • Burnin' at Backstreet (1980) (Fresh Sounds)
  • Chet Baker and the Boto Brazilian Quartet (1980) (Dreyfus)
  • Just friends (1980) (Circle)
  • Live at the Subway, Vol. 1 (1980) (Circle)
  • Live at the Subway, Vol. 2 (1980) (Circle)
  • Night bird (1980) (WestWind)
  • Nightbird (1980) (Retro Music)
  • Live at Fat Tuesday's (1981) (Fresh Sound)
  • Live at the Paris Festival (1981) (DIW)
  • Live in Paris (1981) (Norma)
  • In concert (1982) (India Navigation)
  • Out of nowhere (1982) (Milestone)
  • Peace (1982) (Enja Records)
  • Studio Trieste (1982) (CTI)
  • At Capolinea (1983) (Red)
  • Club 21 Paris, Vol. 1 (1983) (Philology)
  • Live at New Morning (1983) (Marshmallow)
  • Live in Sweden with Åke Johansson trio (1983) (Dragon)
  • Mister B (1983)
  • Mr. B (1983) (Timeless)
  • September Song (1983) (Marshmallow)
  • Star eyes (1983) (Marshmallow)
  • The improviser (1983) (Cadence Jazz)
  • Blues for a reason (1984) (Criss Cross)
  • Line for Lyons (1984) (Sonet)
  • Chet Baker Plays Vladimir Cosma (1984) (Carrere[F] CA 800 96 251)
  • Candy (1985) (Gazell)
  • Chet Baker in Bologna (1985) (Dreyfus)
  • Chet's choice (1985) (Criss Cross)
  • Diane (1985) (SteepleChase) with Paul Bley
    Paul Bley

    Paul Bley, Order of Canada is known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing....
  • Hazy hugs (1985) (Limetree)
  • Live from the moonlight (1985) (Philology)
  • Misty (1985) (IRD)
  • My Foolish Heart (1985) (IRD)
  • Sings again (1985) (Bellaphon)
  • Strollin (1985) (Enja Records)
  • Symphonically (1985) (Soul Note)
  • There'll never be another you (1985) (Timeless)
  • Time after time (1985) (IRD)
  • Tune up (1985) (Westwind)
  • As Time Goes By (1986) (Timeless)
  • As time goes by [love songs] (1986) (Timeless)
  • Chet Baker featuring Van Morrison live at Ronnie Scott's (1986) (DRG)
  • Live at Ronnie Scott's (1986) (Drg)
  • When sunny gets blue (1986) (SteepleChase)
  • A night at the Shalimar (1987) (Philology)
  • Chet Baker in Tokyo (1987) (Evidence)
  • Chet Baker sings and plays from the film « Let's get lost » (1987) (Jive/Novus)
  • Four: live in Tokyo, vol. 2 (1987) (Paddle Wheel)
  • Memories: Chet Baker in Tokyo (1987) (Paddle Wheel)
  • Welcome back (1987) (Westwind)
  • "Blåmann! Blåmann!" (1988) (Hot Club Records, Oslo)
  • Farewell (1988) (Timeless)
  • In memory of (1988) (L & R Music)
  • Little Girl Blue (1988) (Philology)
  • My favourite songs, vol. 2: Straight from the heart (1988) (Enja Records)
  • My favourite songs, vols. 1-2: The last great concert (1988) (Enja Records)
  • Oh you crazy moon (1988) (Enja Records Justin Time)
  • Straight from the heart (1988) (Enja Records)
  • The heart of the ballad (1988) (Phililogy)
  • The best of Chet Baker sings (1989) (Blue Note Records)
  • Lonely Star, The Prestige Sessions (1996) (Prestige)(CD Reissue of the Prestige Sessions from 1965)


External links