[Dixielandjazz] (no subject)

[Martin Nichols]

<Message: 9
Date: Sat, 02 Dec 2006 16:51:06 -0500
From: Steve Barbone 
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Chet Baker + My Funny Valentine
To: DJML 
Message-ID: 
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

The below website lets you hear clips from several versions of Baker on 
My
Funny Valentine including the up tempo version Bob Romans posted.

All, except the "Romans" version are more or less ballad tempo. Most 
all are
quite easily recognizable.

If you go there, several thoughts:

The last recording should point us all to where Chris Botti is coming 
from.
And why not, Baker was very much admired by women as a "sexy" sensitive
player. Botti seems comfortable in the "sensitive" role   :-) VBG

The next to last one is with my avant garde bassist buddy, Charlie 
Hayden.
You'd expect it to be far out, but it isn't.

The first 3 give us an idea of Baker's evolution as a player as he 
changes
his sound from Harry James vibrato to his own cool sound.

The September 1979 version is touted on the web site as being 
unrecognizable
at first, but many (me included) will "hear" it as MFV from the second 
note.

The June 1987 cut is the video Bob posted. It is musically very 
different
from any other version on this web site: Much more "unrecognizable" 
then the
version above. I think either they all got lost before Chet's solo and
started playing Autumn Leaves, or the whole tune was misidentified. 
Can't
tell since this is just a short clip.

Through it all we might remember that Baker was not a trained musician. 
He
played by ear and thus followed the chordal structure of the rhythm 
section.
If they got lost, he got lost. He played without a safety net.

If interested in the genius of Chet Baker check out the Valentine song
versions on the below website:

http://chetbakertribute.com/valentine.html

Cheers,
Steve Barbone>
  Interesting! I have an album of Chet Baker "Let's Get Lost" wherein he plays
  many ballad melodies and sings{ Wow! would that we musos could "live" in the genre Chet was in for that album!Sooo mellow and cool!} . 
   
  All the melodies are recognizable. I did not recognize "MFV" in the clip posted in the OP. If it is MFV it is a up tempo version similar to the way JJ Johnson and Stan Getz played it in their live "Opera House" recordings (which I also have.) Just my 0.02. http://myspace.com/freemarty