Search - Chet Baker :: Grey December

If the cool jazz trend of the 1950s was intended to mean the opposite of what hot jazz stood for--sprightly syncopations at breakneck tempos--many of its supposed practitioners played at the wrong temperature. But trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker always epitomized the style--quiet, often somber, self-absorbed to the point of fragility. He was nevertheless a player who could summon great soul to his performance and who found a kindred spirit in Charlie Parker when the alto saxophonist made an ill-fated West coast trip. Grey December combines a session with Herb Geller on alto sax, Jack Montrose on tenor, and Bud Shank on flute with a 1955 session setting Baker's trumpet and vocals against moody string arrangements. --John Swenson