Well just about, in fact “..within a hair’s breadth of death”. Chet Bakers’s public admission in Today magazine of 1963 was a no-holes-barred confession that would seem to reflect a complete disregard for his life and personal reputation.
From being the fastest rising jazzman in the business, I have become the world’s best known junkie. Police, medical authorities, the customs men of a dozen countries, the F.B.I. and the British Home Office..all keep a close eye on me..I have pumped enough dope into me to kill a quarter of a million normal people..I am nauseated and appalled by my drug madness. I loath myself for my addiction. It is sheer lunacy.. etc.
But strangely, after going public in this way, he just seemed to gain notoriety. Infamy could best describe him not withstanding film star looks – vividly described by the photographer Claxton.
How good was the so called ‘James Dean of jazz’ ? Certainly good enough for Charlie Parker to seek him out for his quintet in May, 1952 & to quote him: “You better look out there’s a little white cat on the coast who’s gonna eat you up” (Or was it really the dope connection?)
But it wasn’t just his looks, as Parker’s Whitlock (subbing band member) confides: “I remember him (Parker) being absolutely dazzled by his ear”. A similar account in regards to his bravura playing from Art Blakey at the Bryant with Thelonious Monk: “I didn’t know this motherf@#0* could play like this”.
West coast cool, the sound of Gerry Mulligan’s Quartet, Pacific Jazz label and community of musicians are an inherent part of Baker’s formative career; his was the sound of Southern California, the sun & the beach. But somehow the persona and the music seem remote as ever.
And he is capable of heart breaking lyricism:
Maybe his real fame lay in the combination of these attributes: his boyish looks, the bored, cool exterior – as much the effect of addiction – along with the androgynous singing voice.
It is not surprising he continues to be the subject of movies and productions: the Jeckel and Hyde persona, the erratic behaviour, the raw talent, his seemingly effortless performances and see-sawing personal life and fortune including film appearances. And a noteworthy laissez-faire remark on meeting Mussolini’s musician son, Romano: “Gee, It’s a drag about your old man” (!)
Finally, a recent comment on Almost Blue YouTube feed befitting his legacy:
‘We should send Chet discography into space just to let the whole universe know that we are capable of something beautiful after all’ Francesco
Born to Be Blue starring Ethan Hawke (2016)
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