Chet Baker

This third Chet Baker release completes Sam Records’ cycle of his French Barclay Disques sessions recorded between 1955 and 1966. This was the last of Baker’s three record commitment with Barclay and despite the title, it’s a compilation of recordings made by Baker at the Studio Pathe-Magellan, some with Jasper’s quintet and others with other musicians resident in Paris. 

Baker’s own group had fallen by the wayside when his pianist Dick Twardzick had died of an overdose, and he teamed up with Jasper’s group in clubs and in the studio. Tenor sax player Jasper and his wife Blossom Dearie are all but footnotes to jazz history today, and this record is a scarcity both in original and reissue form, but it contains some of Baker’s most hauntingly beautiful playing. Anyone looking to explore what made Baker such an appealing musician cannot do better than to listen to the three Barclay albums. Sam Records has packaged each of these three LPs in authentic flip back covers with gorgeous photographic reproductions. The mastering is top notch and the pressings are gorgeous. Some day in the not too distant future these will begin fetching high prices on eBay.