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Chet Baker in Tokyo


GA Russell

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I've never heard the "in Tokyo" album, but from what I have read about it over the years, it seems like all the critics agree that it was his best post-1970 album.

It has been out of print for a long time, and the asking prices for new copies on Amazon have been three digits.

Perhaps you are aware that the "Chet Baker Estate" is releasing some of his albums as CD-Rs. I was first made aware of the three Prestige CDs. Now I see that "in Tokyo" is available, split as Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.

$9.98 each, both with AutoRip.

http://www.amazon.com/Chet-Baker-Tokyo-Vol-1/dp/B00ODF58T6/ref=pd_bxgy_m_text_y

http://www.amazon.com/Chet-Baker-Tokyo-Vol-2/dp/B00ODF59CW/ref=pd_bxgy_m_text_y

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It is an magnificent album I can tell you. Also my favourite national jazz drummer is on there, John Engels. He's still very much alive and kicking jazz. He's turning 80 this year.
This is one of my favourite tracks on it:


Beside John, there is Heyn van der Geyn on bass (also Dutch, he finished his jazz career and retired in 2010) and Harold Danko on piano. Edited by page
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Beside John, there is Heyn van der Geyn on bass (also Dutch, he finished his jazz career and retired in 2010) and Harold Danko on piano.

Hein van de Geyn is now a lecturer at the University of Cape Town. He's still with Challenge Jazz Records and Baseline Music.

And...... he runs a guesthouse with his south african wife, Cyrille Carreon (a singer, dancer and actress). That's the reason he left the Netherlands.

This is Cyrille.
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Funnily enough, I was listening to this concert earlier in the week.

It is great of course, but not the definitive/best album of Chet after 1970, although here were musicians equal to his talents that was not often the case in the last decade or so, there's still plenty of good stuff from this period: the Steeplechase albums for one.

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Funnily enough, I was listening to this concert earlier in the week.

It is great of course, but not the definitive/best album of Chet after 1970, although here were musicians equal to his talents that was not often the case in the last decade or so, there's still plenty of good stuff from this period: the Steeplechase albums for one.

How's the album with Paul Bley?

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Funnily enough, I was listening to this concert earlier in the week.

It is great of course, but not the definitive/best album of Chet after 1970, although here were musicians equal to his talents that was not often the case in the last decade or so, there's still plenty of good stuff from this period: the Steeplechase albums for one.

How's the album with Paul Bley?

I'm not generally a big Paul Bley fan, but I kind of like this one. Baker needed a challenge, and Bley does that. I think it's one of Baker's better late-period efforts.

gregmo

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  • 1 month later...

I've never heard the "in Tokyo" album, but from what I have read about it over the years, it seems like all the critics agree that it was his best post-1970 album.

And Broken Wing, which was recorded somewhere in the 80s in a Parisian studio? I consider it one of his best late efforts. It's part of the Jazz in Paris series.

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Broken Wing:

Chet Baker (tp) Phil Markowitz (pf) Jean-Louis Rassinfosse (b) Jeff Brillinger (ds)

Recorded at Paris, France, December 28, 1978

And yes, it's a part of the 'Jazz in Paris' series....

61OXxbgR1JL.jpg

I think this is the one that was withdrawn from the box set, perhaps due to rights, but it still is in circulation here and there. I did manage to score a copy just like the one above and slipped it into the big box. Quite nice (for a completest).

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As you can see with the two links in the OP and here, the Chet Baker Estate CDs are not currently available.

http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Star-Prestige-Chet-Baker/dp/B00ODFDZ2S/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1425587792&sr=1-6&keywords=Chet+Baker+Prestige

I have been listening to the first Prestige CD on Amazon Prime, and that too has been removed.

PS - The Prestige album I am referring to, Lonely Star, is/was also a Chet Baker Estate release.

Edited by GA Russell
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