Chet Baker made one 'big band' album under his own name. This was in 1956 and it comprised sessions with two different bands, of ten and eleven musicians, so the 'big band' title is a bit of a misnomer. The latter ensemble is the more interesting of the two, with an all-star line-up, including Art Pepper, Bill Perkins, Phil Urso, and Bud Shank (doubling alto and baritone) in the saxes, plus Frank Rosolino as the sole trombonist and Conte Candoli in the three-man trumpet section. All the charts (by Jimmy Heath for the 11-piece) are performed with immaculate precision, which nails the canard about Chet not being a good reader, which I mentioned in an earlier post. A small photograph on the back of the CD sleeve shows CB behind a music stand reading his part. The most extraordinary thing about these sessions is the power and authority of Chet's playing. In this context he really dominates the proceedings, although in the larger band the lead trumpet is obviously played by one of the other players. The solo work is punched out with great clarity and drive and gives the lie to some critics who have described his playing as 'tentative' and even 'enervated'.
In fact, Chet displayed a great sensitivity and flexibilty to the surroundings he was in at any one time. For example, in the Mulligan quartet, he played soft and low, with the beautiful sound that we all love, sometimes playing at the bottom of the trumpet's register, below the stave, to balance his sound with that of the baritone saxophone. Otherwise, the pitch gap between the two instruments would have been too extreme, which has often been the case with other trumpet/baritone combinations. In the area of dynamics, Mulligan was not a 'blaster' on his instrument and was aware of the necessity of staying down to the level of the unamplified bass and light brushwork on the drums. The original quartet must have been a quiet affair, ideally suited to the tiny Haig Club, where they played to the hipper members of the Hollywood community. I love the live recordings made at that club, with occasional sitters-in like Stan Getz and Lee Konitz. If you don't know them, check them out without delay.
