Posts Tagged Chet Baker
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August 31, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Five Songs For Friday: 26 – Chet Baker
I can’t remember when I first heard Chet Baker but I’ve been a fan for a while. A long time. Feels like he’s just been there forever. My whole life. But I would have been a teenager before I first heard him knowingly. And then it was all in. And it’s still the way. Currently […]Archive
February 6, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Jazz Right In Your Face: Ten Important Jazz Albums In My Life
You know the drill by now – here’s the catch-all blurb/explanation I’ve created for these sorts of lists We all know that lists are subjective – that is the point of them. So I’ve decided to do a series of top 10 albums across genres. They’ll appear sporadically. And rather than call them “Top 10” I […]Archive
November 22, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Ben Riley
Ben Riley has died. He was 84. So, a good innings – sure. He was one of my favourite drummers. He is one of my favourite drummers. His playing – of course – lives on. So strong, so subtle, so supple, understated – and yet he was always right there, riding hard on the cymbal […]Archive
February 20, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 580
Ben Webster, My Man: Live at Montmatre 1973 (1973) His last album – released the year he died, Ben Webster was in poor health at the time of this, a diminished capacity to blow (never good for a horn player) but still there’s something here. Sympathetic band, great set of tunes, relaxed blowing session – […]Archive
December 8, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Music Biopics Usually Get It Wrong: The Problem Is Taking The Page To The Stage
The music biopic has a tough job I guess – it has to satiate the fan, someone who might know it all or be pretty sure they do. It has to also introduce people to the music, it has to explain why there is a narrative fictional film about this person – or at least […]Archive
July 21, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Born To Be Blue: Film
Born To Be Blue Director: Robert Budreau New Real Films/Lumanity Productions/Black Hangar Studios This impressionistic biopic of Chet Baker largely succeeds where the other recent impressionistic biopic of a legendary jazz trumpeter was just ludicrous, insulting, absurd. So why does Born To Be Blue work? For a start it actually makes sense. Miles Ahead played […]Archive
June 23, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Avishai Cohen: Into The Silence
Avishai Cohen Into The Silence ECM Not to be confused with the bass-player Avishai Cohen this is the latest album by the trumpeter Avishai Cohen. It’s an elegiac set of reflections on the passing of his father. The band is phenomenal and so deeply respectful towards the material and so aware of each other’s playing […]Archive
August 8, 2011 by Simon Sweetman