Chet Is Back!

Untitled

Chet Is back! is a 1962 studio album by jazz musician Chet Baker.

Background

Chet is Back! was recorded in Rome, Italy in 1962 at RCA's studios, showcasing bop-oriented tunes such as "Pent-Up House" and "Well, You Needn't". The Chet Baker Sextet consisted of a group of up-and-coming European jazz musicians, which included Belgian saxophonist Bobby Jaspar, Belgian guitarist Rene Thomas, Italian pianist Amedeo Tommasi, French bassist Benoit Quersin, and Swiss drummer Daniel Humair.

The album features an original composition, "Ballata in forma di blues" (A Ballad in Blues Style), by Amedeo Tommasi. Ballads are featured, including "Over the Rainbow", "Star Eyes", and "These Foolish Things". Compositions by other jazz musicians are also featured, such as Thelonious Monk's "Well, You Needn't", Sonny Rollins' "Pent Up House", Charlie Parker's "Barbados", and Oscar Pettiford's "Blues in the Closet".

On the 2003 CD reissue of Chet Is Back!, four orchestral pop bonus tracks Baker recorded with Ennio Morricone in Rome in 1962 are featured, "Chetty's Lullaby", "So che ti perderò", "Motivo su raggio di luna", and "Il mio domani", which Baker co-wrote with lyricist Alessandro Maffei. Morricone arranged the songs and conducted the orchestra. Baker plays trumpet and sings lead vocals on these four tracks originally released as 45 singles by RCA Victor in 1962 in Italy.

Track listing

1. "Well, You Needn't" (Thelonious Monk) - 6:23
2. "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" (Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey) - 4:56
3. "Barbados" (Charlie Parker) - 8:26
4. "Star Eyes" (Don Raye, Gene de Paul) - 6:58
5. "Over the Rainbow" (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) - 3:30
6. "Pent-Up House" (Sonny Rollins) - 6:51
7. "Ballata in forma di blues" (Amedeo Tommasi) - 10:06
8. "Blues In the Closet" (Oscar Pettiford) - 7:41

Bonus Tracks (CD Reissue Only)

9. "Chetty's Lullaby" (Chet Baker, Alessandro Maffei) - 4:04
10. "So che ti perderò" (Baker, Maffei) - 4:16
11. "Motivo su raggio di luna" (Baker, Maffei) - 3:53
12. "Il mio domani" (Baker, Maffei) - 5:21

Personnel

Tracks 1-8

• Chet Baker – trumpet
• Amedeo Tommasi – piano
• Benoit Quersin – bass
• Daniel Humair – drums
• René Thomas - guitar
• Bobby Jaspar – tenor saxophone, flute

Tracks 9-12

• Chet Baker – vocals, trumpet
• Ennio Morricone - Conductor
• Ennio Morricone and his Orchestra - strings, horns, percussion

Production notes:

• Daniel Baumgarten - producer (Tracks 1-8)
• Joshua Sherman - producer (Tracks 9-12)
• Jean-Pierre Chalbos - engineer (Tracks 1-8)
• Michael O. Drexler - engineer (Tracks 9-12)