TRANSCRIPT:
Hi, I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Chesney Henry Baker Jr., better known as Chet Baker, was born on December 23, 1929, in Yale, Oklahoma. He grew up in a musical household and became renowned for his lyrical trumpet playing and soft vocal style, earning the nickname "Prince of Cool" for his innovations in cool jazz.
His songs, such as "My Funny Valentine" and "Almost Blue," express deep emotion through subtle phrasing. Baker gained acclaim in the 1950s, especially with albums like “Chet Baker Sings” and “It Could Happen to You. A well-publicized drug habit affected his career, but he experienced a resurgence in the late 1970s and 1980s.
His timeless music blended vulnerability and sophistication, making him a distinctive figure in jazz.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible in part by Layman Poupard Publishers, producers of the Literary Criticism Series and the Dictionary of Literary Biography.