Chet Baker

Chet Baker left a profound mark on jazz in his 40-year career. Baker began playing trumpet in his school band. He was heralded as a major new force in jazz. Several of Baker's recordings also feature his work as a vocalist. His vibratoless, somewhat feminine-sounding tenor voice was in the 'cool school' of singers.

As a child, Baker sang at amateur competitions and in a church choir. In 1946, when he was only 16 years old he was sent to Berlin, Germany, where he played in the 298th Army Band. After his discharge in 1948, he enrolled at El Camino College in Los Angeles. He quit college in the middle of his second year to become a professional jazz musician. Baker first played in Vido Musso's band, then with Stan Getz. Chosen at an audition to play a series of West Coast dates with Charlie Parker, he made his debut with the famed saxophonist at the Tiffany Club in Los Angeles in 1952. That summer, he began playing in the Gerry Mulligan Quartet. Baker toured the U.S. in 1957 with the Birdland All-Stars. He returned to Europe to stay in 1959, settling in Italy, where he acted in the film Urlatori Alla Sbarra. In 1997, Baker's autobiography was published under the title As Though I Had Wings: The Lost Memoir.