More than twenty-five years after his death, interest in Chet Baker – the man and his music – seems to be as high as ever. A few years ago, I was reliably informed that Clint Eastwood had hired a researcher to look into making a movie about him. That would appear to have fallen by the wayside, but more recently there have been reports that Ethan Hawke has been making a movie reimagining Chet’s late 1960’s comeback, entitled Born To Be Blue. The last two years have also seen a number of Chet Baker tribute CDs, from Sue Richardson (Too Cool), Eliane Elias (I Thought About You) and more recently, Stephane Belmondo (Love For Chet). The most personal tribute that I have heard comes from the Italian bass player and composer, Riccardo del Fra, whose latest CD – My Chet My Song – is available on Cristal Records.
Del Fra may not be a household name, but he is highly regarded in the European jazz world. As a bass player he accompanied countless musicians, including the likes of Art Farmer, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Bob Brookmeyer and Lee Konitz. He is most closely associated with Chet Baker, however, and played with him regularly in the 1980s. He can be heard on one of Chet’s finest later recordings, Mr. B (1983), and can also be seen on the movies Live At Ronnie Scott’s (1986) and Chet’s Romance (1987). In recent years, he has also been the head of the department of Jazz and Improvised Music at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Whilst in this position, Del Fra has worked hard to encourage links between jazz and other art forms, including classical music and dance.
In many respects. My Chet My Song was born from the collaborative work between jazz and classical musicians. In the summer of 2011, Del Fra was commissioned by the jazz festival, Jazz in Marciac, to compose a tribute to Chet Baker. The resulting performance saw Del Fra play bass, joined by Roy Hargrove on trumpet, Pierrick Pedron on alto sax, Bruno Ruder at the piano and Billy Hart on drums, accompanied by the orchestra of the Conservatoire de Toulouse. The performance was recorded for French television, but never released on CD.
The CD version features a slightly different line-up, with Airelle Besson taking over on trumpet and flugelhorn, and the Filmorchestra Babelsberg replacing the orchestra of the Conservatoire de Toulouse. The CD opens with I’m A Fool To Want You, which is perhaps most closely associated with Chet through Bertrand Fèvre’s wonderful movie, Chet’s Romance. Del Fra’s score brings an elegant, filmic quality to the music. He is careful to avoid musical clichés, whilst still allowing the jazz musicians plenty of room to improvise within his arrangements. Love For Sale/Wayne’s Whistle brings a dramatic orchestral opening, with the orchestra eventually moving to a more supportive role as the jazz musicians play the familiar melody. Johnny Mercer’s I Remember You in next up. Originally recorded by Chet Baker on Sings And Plays (1955), there is a refreshing originality to Del Fra’s orchestral arrangement, which provides the perfect backdrop for the opening solo by Besson.
There are some beautiful original compositions, too. Wind On An Open Book and The Bells And The Island are both duos for piano and bass, which allow us to enjoy Del Fra’s gorgeous tone and ear for melody. The album closes with My Funny Valentine. Once again, the arrangement is both subtle and elegant, Del Fra playing the melody on his bass – a fitting close to a quite beautiful recording that all Chet Baker fans will want to own.
