Chet Baker Bill Evans - The Complete Legendary Sessions

Chet Baker & Bill Evans. The Complete Legendary Sessions.This collection of fifteen songs, by Chet Baker on trumpet, and Bill Evans on Piano, was recorded over four days back in 1958 and 1959. This collection of jazz ballads includes: 1.)Alone Together; 2.)How High The Moon; 3.)It Never Entered My Mind; 4.)`Tis Autumn; 5.)If You Could See Me Now; 6.)September Song; 7.)You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To; 8.)Time On My Hands; 9.)You And The Night And The Music; 10.)Early Morning Mood; 11.)Show Me; 12.)I Talk To The Trees; 13.)Thank Heaven For Little Girls; 14.)I Could Have Danced All Night; 15.)Almost Like Being In Love.The other musicians and their instruments on songs 1-10, recorded in New York, December 30, 1958 (songs 1-3, 5-7, 10), and January 19, 1959 (songs 4, 8, 9), are: Herbie Mann (flute), Pepper Adams (baritone sax), Kenny Burrell (guitar on 3 & 6 only), Paul Chambers (bass), Connie Kay (drums), Philly Joe Jones (drums on 4,8,9). The other musicians and their instruments on songs 11-14, recorded in New York on July 22, 1959, are: Herbie Mann (flute on 12); Zoot Sims (alto sax on 10 and 13); Pepper Adams (baritone sax on 12); Earl May (bass); Clifford Jarvis (drums). The musicians and their instruments on song 15, recorded in New York on July 21, 1959, are the same as on songs 11-14, except Bob Corwin (piano) replaces Bill Evans, Sims is on tenor sax, and Mann is also on tenor sax.The sound on most of these songs is excellent, with only a little occasional sound breakup present. I don't know if it was the fault of the microphones, or the recording equipment, or the CD recording medium sampling rate, which can be notorious for that brittle sounding sort of thing. On "How High The Moon", some of the quieter trailing notes had a tendency to sound like a kazoo. I can't fault the performers for that. Their performances were excellent and the songs they played were all very good to excellent. The only other complaint I have is that Chet Baker's trumpet is always front and center, but the piano music is often lost way in the distance, with only the piano solos suddenly being loud enough to hear clearly. Very strange, not what you would hear if you were there in person, but that is a recording studio problem, and nothing to do with the musicians. Overall, there was not a bad song in the bunch. Maybe using a little more care in transferring the master tapes to a future type of recording medium will restore this music to its proper glory.

I agree with many of the reviews that rated this collaboration 4 and 5 stars, and I am a passionate fan of both artists. I believe the cover of this album is misleading in that the implication is a collaborative effort between two icons of Jazz. This release is from the Chet Baker catalog and IMO (and even from a casual listener's standpoint) It is Chets superb talent that is clearly featured up-front here! If you are an aspiring musician wanting to transcribe, dissect and absorb Chet's precise melodic tone and emotive delivery this is your album; all are on full-display here! Pepper Adams baritone sax solos on "Alone Together," "How High The Moon" and "If You Could See Me Now" are in-and-of themselves noteworthy examples of masterful execution in the art of subtly "stretching-out" while all-the-while maintaining reverence to the original composition. Herbie Mann's flute finds the occasional spotlight and on some tunes has a delightfully playful "jitterbug" approach (notably "How High the Moon"). This would be the perfect album for a lazy Sunday afternoon for relaxing, or background music for a romantic candlelight dinner but the mix is not conducive to the group effort. Even on an audiophile grade Hi-Fi Audio system, this album played soft and low, it can be difficult to distinguish Bill and the supporting musicians (all who "up-their-musicianship" amidst their contemporaries) in the mix; and if played low enough, at times they are so far back in the mix, they drop completely out of the aural spectrum leaving large gaps of silence between Chet's playing. As a lover of this era of jazz, in my opinion many of these compositions (sans the show tunes in the later track list) are exquisite respectful interpretations of many standards of that day, expertly executed. I agree with the other critics who would have preferred the show tunes were left off of this compilation - they do not belong with the body of the classic jazz standards here. If you love this era of jazz and know of these artists, few albums come to mind that take you to such a wistful state of aural bliss. Maybe some day it will be re-mixed, remastered and re-released. I'm hoping so!

Jazz fans will enjoy and treasure these performances by two of the best!

The production choices on this collection of music are somewhat disappointing. If you are listening for the finer work of Chet Baker, this CD will not disappoint. It has 15 flawless tracks of Chet Baker. It has very fine supporting solo work by Pepper Adams, Herbie Mann and Zoot Sims. But don't buy this compilation thinking that you will hear the finer supporting work of the rhythm section. Bill Evans is certainly listed with other jazz notables such as Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Earl May and Clifford Jarvis. But the mix is so weighted towards the horns and the reeds that the rhythm section sounds like they are out in the hall. Bill Evans does have some spare moments out front, but there is so much imbalance here that the cover art that promises equal interplay between Chet and Bill is misleading at best. You will not find the production mix to be up to the balance that you will find on "1958 Miles" and "Kind of Blue." With regard to talent, Miles knew who and what he had in the studio when he was recording. He knew how to use Bill's talent. These recordings by Chet miss the mark with regard to the music production of his sidemen. Buy this CD to hear Chet but don't buy it to hear Bill.

Soooo gooood

If you are a fan of either of these amazing jazz musicians this is a must have.

Disco de Jazz muy divertido. Para mi una gran sorpresa y adquisicion

Apasionante, reflexivo, realmente legendario! Es un álbum excelente para disfrutar solo o en compañía. Es una verdadera lastima que no haya más material de éstos dos grandes juntos.

Chet Baker and Bill Evans didn't play much together, but when they did - excellent music, and it's all here.

癒される感じで満足。ただ、BILL EVANSである必要があったかは不明。