Chet Baker

Chet Baker
Baker in 1983
Baker in 1983
Background information
Birth nameChesney Henry Baker Jr.
Born(1929-12-23)December 23, 1929
Yale, Oklahoma, U.S.
DiedMay 13, 1988(1988-05-13) (aged 58)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • composer
Instruments
  • Trumpet
  • flugelhorn
  • vocals
Years active1949–1988[1]
Labels
Spouse(s)
Charlaine Souder
(m. 1950, divorced)
Halema Alli
(m. 1956; div. 1964)
Carol Ann Jackson
(m. 1964)
Partner(s)

Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool".[2]

Baker earned much attention and critical praise through the 1950s, particularly for albums featuring his vocals: Chet Baker Sings (1954) and It Could Happen to You (1958). Jazz historian Dave Gelly described the promise of Baker's early career as "James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one".[3] His well-publicized drug habit also drove his notoriety and fame. Baker was in and out of jail frequently before enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and 1980s.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ruhlmann was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Carr, Roy (December 2, 2004). "A century of jazz". London : Hamlyn – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Gelly, Dave (2000). Icons of Jazz: A History in Photographs, 1900–2000 (North American ed.). San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press. ISBN 1-57145-268-0.
  4. ^ Leland, John (October 5, 2004), Hip: The History, HarperCollins, pp. 265–, ISBN 978-0-06-052817-1, retrieved November 13, 2015