Recordings from Chet Baker’s later years have generally been greeted with faint praise at best. But on a good day his trumpet playing could be quite enthralling. And this was a good day – or rather several good nights – in 1983, at that long-gone London jazz spot, the Canteen. Baker’s tone may be soft and whispery, but he chooses some sharpish tempos. His ideas, articulation and, especially, his canny use of time, are all spot-on too. He doesn’t sing much on this double CD, which is perhaps just as well. His light, romantic voice seemed to have departed along with his film-star looks. But his sheer musicality, supported here by the brilliant John Horler trio, remained undimmed.
