to release the shutter . Chet ’ s black jeans and white t-shirt repeat the colour mix of his group and of his music . The iconography is subtle , but it ’ s also undeniable .
By February 1957 , when Chet Baker & Crew was released , Chet Baker was no longer simply a young man with a horn . Something had changed in his musical life and in a way that was to divide the critics ever after . For in February 1954 , Chet had recorded a vocal album . It was , instantly , that strange and awkward thing , a work disliked by the critics – and by many musicians , including some of those involved – but loved by the public . Chet Baker Sings was his most successful record . It has been reissued more than fifty times , in almost every territory . It is one of those records , along with Kind of Blue , Time Out , Lady Sings the Blues , maybe a couple of others , that every jazz fan will have on the shelf . More important , it ’ s an album cherished by many who don ’ t otherwise listen to much or any jazz at all . And therein lies the rub .
Facsimile of the original Chet Baker & Crew ( Pacific Jazz PJ-1224 ) LP cover .
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