AMG Review by Lindsay Planer
The ultra-hip and sophisticated “cool jazz” that Chet Baker (trumpet/vocals) helped define in the early ’50s matured rapidly under the tutelage of producer Dick Bock. This can be traced to Baker’s earliest sides on Bock’s L.A.-based Pacific Jazz label. This album is the result of Baker’s first sessions for the independent Riverside label. The Chet Baker Quartet featured on Chet Baker Sings It Could Happen to You includes Kenny Drew (piano), Sam Jones (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). (Performances by bassist George Morrow and drummer Dannie Richmond are featured on a few cuts.) This results in the successful combination of Baker’s fluid and nonchalant West Coast delivery with the tight swinging accuracy of drummer Jones and pianist Drew. Nowhere is this balance better displayed than the opening and closing sides on the original album, “Do It the Hard Way” and “Old Devil Moon,” respectively. One immediate distinction between these vocal sides and those recorded earlier in the decade for Pacific Jazz is the lissome quality of Baker’s playing and, most notably, his increased capacity as a vocalist. “I’m Old Fashioned” and “While My Lady Sleeps” — the latter being one of two additional tracks added to the CD edition — display a sense of strength and restraint. The brilliant song selection certainly doesn’t hurt either. This is an essential title in Chet Baker’s 30-plus year canon.
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Chet Baker – trumpet, vocals
Kenny Drew – piano
George Morrow, Sam Jones – Bass
Philly Joe Jones, Danny Richmond – drums
Produced by Bill Grauer
Recorded in New York: August 1958
Riverside 20 bit remastered
Track Listing: 1. Do It The Hard Way
2. I’m Old Fashioned
3. You’re Driving Me Crazy
4. It Could Happen To You
5. My Heart Stood Still
6. The More I See You
7. Everything Happens To Me
8. Dancing On the Ceiling
9. How Long Has This Been Going On?
10. Old DEvil Moon
11. While My Lady Sleeps (take 10)
12. You Make Me Feel So Young. (take 5)