Chet Baker Re:imagined
Chet Baker needs no introduction here but he will probably get some new admirers and fans with this latest 15-song compilation of some of his best-known tunes, recorded by a plethora of young artists from all over the world, to be released this Friday on Decca records. It coincides with the 70th anniversary of his seminal album “Chet Baker Sings”. I like the fact that we don’t get vocals only, but some trumpet interpretations as well. Ife Ogunjobi from London’s Ezra Collective combines his vibrant and virtuosic trumpet playing with some extra Afrobeats on “Speak Low”. And Poppy Daniels, also from London, who has played and recorded with Jordan Rakei and Blue Lab Beats, accelerates her version of “I’ve Never Been In Love Before” with a highly Latinized percussion backdrop. The album starts out with another Londoner: singer Joel Culpepper hops and weaves through “Look For The Silver Lining” with a few high note surprises and with an effervescent spirit that the song completely becomes his own.
Eloise, the singer who caught us by surprise with her debut album “Drunk On A Flight” in 2023, tackles the well-worn “That Old Feeling” with heartfelt poignancy and a sweet guitar accompaniment, coloring it with some breezy vocal harmonies. Sarah Kang, originally from South Korea, but now based in New York, has a free-flowing “I’m Old Fashioned” which swings along nicely and features great piano work. It’s funny though that some of the indie and folk and singer songwriter meets jazz artists here more or less sound alike in their vocal approach, like Hohnen Ford, Matilda Mann, and dodie. All of them come across with pretty immersive arrangements though. Probably the artist which comes closest to Herr Baker is Dutch singer Benny Sings (we’re big fans of his work) whose tender and whimsical version of “Time After Time” also includes some of those typical Chet scatting. And Puma Blue excels here with his typically hushed and very minimalistic and vulnerable “It’s Always You”.
There is something in Canadian singer/songwriter Stacy Ryan’s voice which I don’t really like but her arrangement of “Like Someone In Love” is excellent, with lots of soul and r&b undertones. How do you address “My Funny Valentine”? 23-year old British singer Matt Maltese, whose own new album “Hers” will come out on Friday, finds a nonchalant way with his radiating voice, always on the brink of some ho-hum temper, but never really boring. Which can’t be said of mxmtoon whose “I Fall In Love To Easily” is a pretty lackluster affair. And 21-year old Australian grentperez has some impressive vibes to offer on “But Not For Me”. The lullaby “While My Lady Sleeps” is the album closer, done by singer Delaney Bailey with some eerie affection. The album will come out on double vinyl too!
