In review--On Baker's Street
Jazz Joe Barbieri Chet Lives! Le Chant du Monde/Harmonia Mundi For anyone familiar with the history of American jazz will have heard the name Chet Baker. I had heard the name, but had never officially listened to any of Baker’s iconic songs. A trumpeter and vocalist, Baker focused on lyrical jazz which he sung with sedated, sultry voice with hints of Brazilian bossa nova. Sadly, Baker’s story is mostly tragic with his mysterious death in the Netherlands and a drug addiction that plagued him for most of his career. You would never have guessed this from the brightness of his voice and horn or from the songs he sung. Italian crooner-guitarist Joe Barbieri along with his trio (Antonio Fresa on piano and Luca Aquino on trumpet and flugel horn), render the spirit of the late Baker by revisiting the songs Baker performed in Italy on Chet Lives! Oddly, with some of the songs delving into bos...