''Chet Baker Sings'' is the debut vocal

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musician Chet Baker, released in 1954 by Pacific Jazz Records. In 2001, the album received the

Grammy Hall of Fame Award The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. Baker would return to selections from this album throughout his career. "My Funny Valentine" was regularly included in his concert performances, and is considered by some to be his signature song.

Track listing

Original LP (Pacific PJLP-11)

Side one: #"But Not for Me" - 3:04 #"Time After Time" - 2:46 #"My Funny Valentine" - 2:21 #"I Fall in Love Too Easily" - 3:21 Side two: #"

There Will Never Be Another You "There Will Never Be Another You" is a popular song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Mack Gordon that was written for the Twentieth Century Fox musical ''Iceland'' (1942) starring Sonja Henie and John Payne. The songs in the film featur ...

" - 3:00 #"

I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes) "I Get Along Without You Very Well" is a popular song composed by Hoagy Carmichael in 1939, with lyrics based on a poem written by Jane Brown Thompson, and the main melodic theme on the Fantaisie-Impromptu in C sharp minor, Op 66, by Frédéric Cho ...

" - 2:59 #"The Thrill is Gone" - 2:51 #"Look for the Silver Lining" - 2:39

1956 LP reissue (Pacific PJ-1222)

This issue features additional tracks 1-6, which were recorded on July 23 and 30, 1956.

Personnel

* Chet Baker -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Russ Freeman -

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, celesta * Carson Smith -

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

Joe Mondragon Joe Mondragon (February 2, 1920 – July 1987) was an American jazz bassist. Early life Mondragon was born in Antonito, Colorado, and raised in the Española Valley region of New Mexico. Mondragon was of Apache and Hispanic origin. Career ...

* Bob Neel - drums *

Jimmy Bond Jimmy Bond is a fictional character in the American Fox television shows ''The Lone Gunmen'' and ''The X-Files'', two science fiction shows about government conspiracies to hide or deny the truth from the people. Portrayed by American actor ...

- double bass * Larance Marable - drums * Peter Littman - drums

Production

Richard Bock Richard W. Bock (July 16, 1865 – 1949) was an American sculptor and associate of Frank Lloyd Wright. He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials,Lorado Taft''The History of American Sculptur ...

– producer *

Gerald Heard Henry FitzGerald Heard (6 October 1889 – 14 August 1971), commonly called Gerald Heard, was a British-born American historian, science writer, public lecturer, educator, and philosopher. He wrote many articles and over 35 books. Heard was a g ...

– liner notes * William Claxton – photography

References

Chet Baker albums 1954 albums Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Pacific Jazz Records albums {{1950s-jazz-album-stub