Chet Baker • Blue Room - The 1979 VARA Studio Sessions In Holland

 

Review by Matt Collar

The 2023 two-disc collection Blue Room: The 1979 Vara Studio Sessions in Holland spotlights the unexpected magic trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker could conjure during the last decade of his life. Having achieved stardom on the West Coast in the '50s, Baker spent much of his career, from the '60s until his death in 1989, living and performing in Europe where his drug addiction and itinerant lifestyle were never as much of a barrier to getting work. Recorded in the Netherlands on two separate dates in 1979, the Blue Room sessions find Baker digging into some of his favorite standards, as well as a few unexpected song choices. The first session features one of his touring lineups of the period with pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, and drummer Charles Rice. This is the more cohesive of the sessions, as Baker offers warm takes of some of favorite standards, including "Oh, You Crazy Moon" and "The Best Thing for You," both of which he had just recorded on his classic 1977 comeback album You Can't Go Home Again. There are also inspired renditions of Wayne Shorter's "Beautiful Black Eyes" and the Miles Davis blues number "Down," the latter of which was another staple of his final years. The second session, recorded several months later, was a more ad hoc affair with producer Edwin Rutten putting Baker in with a trio of European players, including pianist Frans Elsen, bassist Victor Kaihatu, and drummer Eric Ineke. Purportedly, Baker failed to bring lead sheets for the band and they had to figure out each song on the fly. While that led to some temerous moments, including a shaky version of "Old Devil Moon," other cuts surprised, as with sly blues number "Luscious Lou," a song composed by Baker's '50s bandmate, saxophonist Phil Urso. Toward the end of the session, they find their groove, settling into a bittersweet rendition of "My Ideal," a song Baker first recorded in the '50s whose lovelorn lyrics took on ever more nuanced meaning the further he got from that early golden boy period of his career. Even so, his performance, as with pretty much all of Blue Room, is entrancing.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-room-the-1979-vara-studio-sessions-in-holland-mw0003921662

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Reseña de Matt Collar
La colección de dos discos de 2023 Blue Room: The 1979 Vara Studio Sessions in Holland pone de relieve la inesperada magia que el trompetista y vocalista Chet Baker pudo conjurar durante la última década de su vida. Tras alcanzar el estrellato en la Costa Oeste en los años 50, Baker pasó gran parte de su carrera, desde los 60 hasta su muerte en 1989, viviendo y actuando en Europa, donde su adicción a las drogas y su estilo de vida itinerante nunca fueron un obstáculo para conseguir trabajo. Grabadas en los Países Bajos en dos fechas distintas de 1979, las sesiones de Blue Room muestran a Baker escarbando en algunos de sus estándares favoritos, así como en algunas canciones inesperadas. La primera sesión presenta una de sus formaciones de gira de la época, con el pianista Phil Markowitz, el bajista Jean-Louis Rassinfosse y el batería Charles Rice. Esta es la más cohesiva de las sesiones, ya que Baker ofrece cálidas tomas de algunos de sus estándares favoritos, incluyendo "Oh, You Crazy Moon" y "The Best Thing for You", que acababa de grabar en su clásico álbum de regreso de 1977 You Can't Go Home Again. También hay inspiradas versiones de "Beautiful Black Eyes", de Wayne Shorter, y del blues de Miles Davis "Down", que fue otro de los temas clave de sus últimos años. La segunda sesión, grabada varios meses más tarde, fue un asunto más ad hoc, con el productor Edwin Rutten poniendo a Baker con un trío de músicos europeos, incluyendo el pianista Frans Elsen, el bajista Victor Kaihatu, y el baterista Eric Ineke. Al parecer, Baker no trajo las partituras para el grupo y tuvieron que improvisar cada canción sobre la marcha. Aunque esto provocó algunos momentos temerosos, como una versión temblorosa de "Old Devil Moon", otros cortes sorprendieron, como el astuto blues "Luscious Lou", una canción compuesta por el saxofonista Phil Urso, compañero de banda de Baker en los años cincuenta. Hacia el final de la sesión, encuentran su ritmo, y se acomodan en una interpretación agridulce de "My Ideal", una canción que Baker grabó por primera vez en los años 50 y cuya letra, llena de matices, iba adquiriendo un significado cada vez más matizado a medida que se alejaba de ese primer periodo dorado de su carrera. Aun así, su interpretación, como la de casi todo Blue Room, es fascinante.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-room-the-1979-vara-studio-sessions-in-holland-mw0003921662

 

Tracks:
1-1 - Beautiful Black Eyes
Written By – L. McConnell
Written-By – W. Shorter - 9:15
1-2 - Oh, You Crazy Moon
Written-By – J. Burke, J. Van Heusen - 10:04
1-3 - The Best Thing For You
Written-By – I. Berlin - 6:13
1-4 - Blue Room
Written-By – R. Rodgers, L. Hart - 16:12
1-5 - Down
Written-By – M. Davis - 7:23
2-1 - Blue Gilles
Written-By – C. Baker - 10:54
2-2 - Nardis
Written-By – M. Davis - 8:38
2-3 - Candy
Written-By – A. Kramer, J. Whitney, M. David - 5:43
2-4 - Luscious Lou
Written-By – P. Urso - 7:58
2-5 - My Ideal
Written-By – L. Robin, N. Chase, R. A. Whiting - 5:37
2-6 - Old Devil Moon
Written-By – B. Lane, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg - 5:14

Credits:
    Art Direction – Burton Yount
    Bass – Jean-Louis Rassinfosse (tracks: 1-1 to 2-2), Victor Kaihatu (tracks: 2-3 to 2-6)
    Drums – Charles Rice (5) (tracks: 1-1 to 2-2), Eric Ineke (tracks: 2-3 to 2-6)
    Editor [Album Package] – John Koenig
    Engineer [Original Recording] – Jim Rip
    Executive-Producer [For Elemental Music] – Carlos Agustin Calembert, Jordi Soley
    Graphics [Album] – Gordon H Jee
    Interviewee [Liner Notes] – Enrico Pieranunzi, Enrico Rava, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, Randy Brecker
    Liner Notes – Eric Ineke, Jeroen De Valk, Phil Markowitz
    Photography By [Front + Back Covers] – Don Bronstein
    Piano – Frans Elsen (tracks: 2-3 to 2-6), Phil Markowitz (tracks: 1-1 to 2-2)
    Producer [Associate], Research [Photo] – Zak Shelby-Szyszko
    Producer [Original Recordings Produced By] – Lex Lammen
    Producer [Original Recordings Produced By], Liner Notes – Edwin Rutten
    Producer [Produced For Release], Liner Notes, Research [Researcher], Research [Tape Research] – Frank Jochemsen
    Producer [Produced For Release], Research [Photo], Interviewer [Liner Notes] – Zev Feldman
    Restoration [Sound], Mastered By – Sheldon Zaharko

Tracks 1-1 to 2-2 recorded on April 10, 1979 at VARA Studio 2, Hilversum, The Netherlands.
Tracks 2-3 to 2-8 recorded November 9, 1979 at VARA Studio 2, Hilversum, The Netherlands.

Label:    Jazz Detective – DDJD-008, Deep Digs – DDJD-008, Elemental Music – DDJD-008
Country:    USA, Canada & Europe
Released:    Apr 28, 2023
Genre:    Jazz
Style:    Cool Jazz, Bop, Post Bop, Modal, Ballad, Vocal
https://www.discogs.com/release/26048347-Chet-Baker-Blue-Room-The-1979-VARA-Studio-Sessions-In-Holland

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