Chet Baker And Elvis Costello - Live At Ronnie Scotts

Starring: Chet Baker, Van Morrison Dvd Release: 17th January, 2005 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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Any item that showcases the talent of the late Chet Baker is one well worth enjoying. This Ronnie Scotts appearance, recorded just two years before his death, provides a fine selection of well known & some lesser known pieces, all of which benefit from the Baker effect. Although by this time his voice was somewhat weakened, what certainly had not diminished was the innovative playing style, that remained second to none and, in my view, is still unparalleled to this day. As advertised, Elvis Costello appears, in a dual role of performer & interviewer. His conversations with Baker, shown between tracks, add a great deal to the overall enjoyment of the piece. One thing that is not advertised here, & that consequently I was unaware of until the DVD arrived in my possession, is that the vastly overrated Van Morrison also guests, although thankfully on one track only. Morrisons typically garbled, off-key droning completely desecrates a timeless classic, that not even Bakers masterful musicianship can save, & for this I am forced to reluctantly deduct one star from the rating. However this does not alter the fact that this DVD is a must have item for all fans of this musical genre, & particularly of Chet himself. A legend whose genius remains deeply missed.

Chesney Henry Chet Baker Jr. was an American jazz musician. Raised in a musical household in Oklahoma & coming to age in Southern California during the bebop era of jazz, Baker found success as a trumpet player in 1951 when he was chosen by Charlie Parker to play with him on a series of West Coast dates. In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which lasted less than a year due to Mulligans arrest on drug charges. In 1954, Baker won the Downbeat Jazz Poll, beating Miles Davis. Over the next few years, Baker fronted his own combo, both playing trumpet & singing. His good looks & singing talent made him an icon of the west coast cool school of jazz. In the early 60s, drug addiction caught up with Baker & his promising musical career declined as a result. Heroin addiction created a myriad of legal problems for him as well; he ended up serving more than a year in prison in Italy & was later expelled from both West Germany & England for drug related offenses. He was eventually deported to the United States from West Germany after running afoul of the law there a second time.

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George Ivan Morrison, known as Van, is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, occasional saxophone player & exponent of so-called Celtic Soul. He was exposed to music from an early age, as his father collected American jazz albums & his mother was a singer. He initially came to prominence fronting the band Them, which he formed in 1964 & with whom he had a number of chart hits. Morrison became unhappy with increasing emphasis on the use of studio musicians & left the band after a US tour in 1966. He returned to Belfast, intending to quit the music business. Them’s producer, Bert Berns, persuaded him to return to New York & record solo. From these early sessions emerged one of his best-known songs, “Brown-Eyed Girl.” After Berns’s death, Morrison started recording with the Warner Brothers label. His first album for them was Astral Weeks, considered by many to be his best work. Released in 1968, the album was critically acclaimed, but received an indifferent response from the public. Posters Of Van Morrison

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