[1] Well, You Needn't (Thelonius Monk) - 6:19
[2] These Foolish Things (Strachey / Link / Marwell) - 4:54
[3] Barbados (Charlie Parker) - 8:24
[4] Star Eyes (Raye / De Paul) - 6:55
[5] Over the Rainbow (Arlen) - 3:28
[6] Pent-Up House (S.Rollins) - 6:50
[7] Ballata in Forma Di Blues (Amadeo Tommasi) - 10:01
[8] Blues in the Closet (Oscar Pettiford) - 7:41
The Chat Baker Sextett:
Chet Baker - Trumpet
Bobby Jaspar - Tenor Saxophone, Flute
René Thomas - Guitar
Amadeo Tommasi - Piano
Benoit Quersin - Bass
Daniel Humair - Drums
Daniel Baumgarten - Reissue Supervisor
Glaucio Cortini - Original Cover Photo
1992 LP RCA PM 10307
2000 CD BMG International 79619
2002 CD Japanese Victor Co. 37273
2003 CD RCA 64020
Recorded at RCA Studios, Rome, Italy, on January 5th, 1962.
Recorded in Italy in 1962, Chet Is Back! showcases the "cool" trumpeter
cutting loose on such bop-oriented workouts as "Pent-Up House" and
"Well, You Needn't." Backed skillfully by a young cadre of
up-and-coming European musicians, including the stellar saxophonist
Bobby Jaspar, Chet Baker may have never sounded better, including on
the ballads. One listen to "Over the Rainbow" and it's clear this is an
overlooked Baker classic. [Fans should check out the 2003 reissue of
Chet Is Back!, which includes four orchestral pop bonus tracks Baker
recorded with Ennio Morricone around the same time as this session.]
Matt Collar, All-Music Guide
Having been reissued numerous times over the years under various
titles, this Bluebird version of Chet Is Back! stands out as the
definitive packaging of one of Chet Baker's best early-'60s recordings.
Besides featuring the original artwork and liner notes -- as well as
detailed new liner notes from James Gavin, author of Deep in a Dream:
The Long Night of Chet Baker -- the real impetus to pick this up is the
inclusion of four orchestral pop singles Baker recorded with Ennio
Morricone around the same time as the album. Never before released in
the U.S., these tracks were purportedly composed by the
trumpeter/vocalist while serving jail time in Lucca, Italy after
obtaining fake drug prescriptions. Interestingly, in an act of what
would now be viewed as monumental "enabling," Pino Maffei, the court
stenographer at Baker's trial, penned the lyrics. Oozing with a
wistful, melodic romanticism, these four lost gems are essential
listening for Baker fanatics. Singing -- in Italian no less -- and
backed by Morricone's choir, string and horn arrangements that swell
like a balmy ocean tide over light ballads and breezy mid-tempo
swingers, this is Baker as Federico Fellini might have imagined him.
The eight original tracks to the main album are also revelatory in that
Baker -- usually pegged as a low-register "cool" player -- really cuts
loose on such bop-oriented workouts as "Pent-up House" and "Well, You
Needn't." Backed skillfully by a young cadre of up-and-coming European
musicians, including the stellar saxophonist Bobby Jaspar, Baker may
have never sounded better, including on the ballads. One listen to
"Over the Rainbow" and it's clear this is an overlooked Baker classic.