Chet Baker & Strings
Chet Baker
Columbia CL 549
1954
I picked up this vintage pressing at a garage sale. I first encountered Chet Baker via Gerry Mulligan. I'm a big fan of Mulligan so naturally I investigated his famous pianoless quartet with Baker on trumpet. I really liked those recordings but I wasn't all that impressed by Baker. Then I saw Bruce Weber's 1988 documentary on Baker, "Let's Get Lost." He seemed like a jerk but there was no denying he had some kind of magnetism as a young man. The film sparked renewed interest in Baker and his records were reissued. It seemed like every time I went to a party back then, whether it was thrown by a middle-aged comic book writer or a thirtyish female film producer, Baker would show up in the music mix. I bought a few records myself which I generally liked although I'll never understand how this guy beat the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Clifford Brown in the 1954 "Downbeat" poll for best trumpet player. This is my favorite of his albums, although I must admit I've only heard a portion of his large discography. The concept of the album is to pair Baker and a small jazz combo (Zoot Sims, Bud Shank, Russ Freeman, Shelly Manne and Joe Mondragon) with an orchestra. The album's opening song, "You Don't Know What Love Is," begins with a string flourish that sounds kind of corny and makes me expect some muzak, but then Baker starts to play an achingly beautiful horn line that transforms the song completely. He's not the most technically accomplished player, but what a sweet tone. "I'm Thru With Love" is more uptempo and swings a little. Russ Freeman's piano solo is my favorite part of the song. "Love Walked In" features Baker exchanging lines with Sims on tenor saxophone reminiscent of his work with Mulligan. After a slow introductory section, the song jumps into a fast paced section with terrific blowing from both men. "You Better Go Now" has an arrangement by Jack Montrose that allows Baker to showcase his lyrical side and the interplay with the strings pays off strongly on this cut. Despite a somewhat corny arrangement from Marty Paich, "I Married An Angel" still features some very lovely playing from Baker and a melodic solo from Sims. The side finishes on a swinging note with the uptempo performance of "Love" with smoking solos from Baker, Freeman and Bud Shank on alto saxophone. This is one of my favorite cuts on the album. Side two opens with "I Love You" with Shank and Baker carrying the tune which is another slow pretty one. Shorty Rogers' arrangement of "What a Diff'rence a Day Made" again recalls the Mulligan Quartet as Shank and Baker interweave their instruments around each other. It is another one of my favorites on the album. Rogers also arranged "Why Shouldn't I" in which the orchestra provides a lovely framework for some mellow blowing from Sims and Baker. The pace increases for Jack Montrose's composition "A Little Duet" in which Baker and Sims really go to work for some swinging playing. It is the best cut on the album for me. I really dig the dynamic contrast between the beauty of the orchestral accompaniment and the hot playing of the horns. Russ Freeman composed "The Wind" which is an evocative moody number that is greatly enhanced by the string arrangement by John Mandel. The album concludes with Shorty Rogers' propulsive "Trickleydidlier" which ends the album on an upbeat note with strong solos from Baker and Sims. I think Baker's strength as a player was the beauty of his tone and his lyricism both of which are enhanced by orchestral support. The orchestration is rarely obtrusive or heavy-handed and the album is notable for its consistency of mood and feeling. It is so lovely and warm, that I suspect that even people who don't like jazz would probably enjoy it. Recommended for a romantic dinner with your special someone.
The Last Word
Jack Kerouac
Rhino RI 70939-D
1990
This is the fourth album in Rhino's "Jack Kerouac Collection" box set. It consists of outtakes and unreleased recordings. Side one features two 1958 outtakes from "Blues and Haikus." The first track is "Old Western Movies" which was unpublished. It is very slight, it is easy to see why it didn't make it on the original album. The most interesting aspect to it is the patter between Kerouac, the musicians Al Cohn and Zoot Sims and producer Bob Thiele. There are a couple of false takes before the master. In take one Cohn and Sims jam a little which prompts some scat vocalizing from Kerouac. Take two breaks down when the musicians overshadow Kerouac who is apparently too far from the mike. Thiele tries to instruct Cohn about how he should play, but Kerouac tells the musician to play whatever he wants. Thiele mentions in the booklet that accompanies the box set, that he didn't think the musicians actually paid any attention to what Kerouac was reading, they just played whatever they felt like and listening to these outtakes I'm inclined to agree. Kerouac sometimes responds to the music, but the musicians never respond to his work. On the master take Cohn simply tells Kerouac where to come in and starts playing the piano. Kerouac sings the beginning of the poem, it is more musical than any of the takes actually used on the original record. I like it, he's not a great singer, but it is effective and it swings. Overall it is a nice performance albeit a bit sloppy, too bad the poem is so weak. I like when Kerouac sings the beginning of the other track, which is "Conclusion of the Railroad Earth," but then it is all downhill from there. From a literary standpoint this is a strong piece, but Kerouac doesn't read it very well. He sounds like he's drunk to me. It is kind of fun but kind of annoying too, like a drunk at a party. The track could have easily fit on the original "Blues And Haikus" album which is only about 30 minutes long. I presume that the performance was considered unacceptable, but there is also a little static on the track that might have led to the decision to omit it as well. Side two opens with Kerouac at the Hunter College Playhouse in 1958 giving a presentation at the "Is There a Beat Generation" forum. Kerouac is in great form, the audience seems to inspire him. He tells jokes, impersonates Ben Hecht and reads a rollicking poem about Harpo Marx. I think he is more charismatic here than on any of the original records. Not only is Kerouac very entertaining, but the speech itself is extremely interesting. When he's really on he doesn't need music, he swings on his own. The final track is from Steve Allen's television show in 1959. Kerouac reads from "On The Road" and "Visions of Cody" with Allen accompanying him on piano in a very similar manner to the album they did together, "Poetry for the Beat Generation." The reading here is arguably the smoothest and most disciplined on any of the albums perhaps the giant television audience intimidated Kerouac. I enjoy it but he seems a bit stifled. This is a really worthwhile album despite the marginal nature of the recordings. I think it is just as interesting and revealing as any of the three original albums. I've read a few biographies and oral histories about Kerouac and this record seems to capture the man the way his associates viewed him. Recommended to anyone who ever wondered what it would be like to hang out with Jack Kerouac.
Blues and Haikus
Jack Kerouac
Rhino RI 70939-B
1959
This was Jack Kerouac's second album, originally on Hanover Records, it was re-issued by Rhino in 1990 in a handsome box set, "The Jack Kerouac Collection" along with his other two albums and an album of outtakes. This is my favorite of the three original albums. I bought the box at Aron's Records in Hollywood around the time it came out. I couldn't really afford it, but I was a huge Kerouac fan at the time so I splurged. I used to be involved in indie filmmaking and had a script based on the Beat Generation so I figured this could be justified as research. As I've gotten older, Kerouac appeals to me less, he seems more narcissistic and immature to me now, but I still enjoy his style. This album features Kerouac reading his poetry backed by saxophonists Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. In the first track "American Haikus" the poetry and jazz basically alternate, Kerouac recites his three line poems in silence and then Cohn and Sims alternately improvise a few bars and then Kerouac recites the next poem. I like the poems quite a bit but I'm not convinced that the jazz really enhances them all that much. The next track "Hard Hearted Old Farmer" tries to mix the music and poetry more closely. Kerouac basically sings the poem while Cohn plays piano in the background. Kerouac isn't much of a singer, but I'm kind of charmed by his awkwardness. I think as far as jazz/poetry synthesis goes this is perhaps the most successful track. It is followed by "The Last Hotel" which Kerouac recites over Cohn playing piano and Sims blowing sax. I think in this instance the music does enhance the poetry and it seems to inspire Kerouac to a more passionate reading. Side two features "Poems from the Unpublished 'Book of Blues'" for the entire side. I like this track the best, particularly since it is about San Francisco, my favorite city. Cohn and Sims duet in the background throughout the poem. Sometimes I find the music distracting and sometimes it seems to elevate the poetry. I think it would be interesting if there was a rhythm section that propelled the reading. It would deny Kerouac some of his freedom perhaps, but I think the propulsive effect might give more force to the reading. Regardless this track does feature Kerouac's most exciting reading, I find it very engaging. The music is also very stimulating on this cut, that is why it is distracting, I find myself listening to Sims and Cohn instead of the poem at times. I like this record quite a bit, it works both as music and poetry. If you have any interest in Beat poetry or even just the possibilities of spoken word recordings, it is worth checking out. Recommended for Dharma Bums with a taste for be-bop.
