Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings (2023 Blue Note Tone Poet 180g Mono LP)

One of the most beloved vocal jazz albums ever recorded, Chet Baker Sings captures the trumpeter's intimate, almost fragile voice interpreting classic standards with heartbreaking vulnerability. Originally released in 1956 on Pacific Jazz and reissued in this 2023 Blue Note Tone Poet Series repress, the album features Baker's tender readings of songs like "My Funny Valentine", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", and "Look For The Silver Lining", accompanied by pianist Russ Freeman and rotating rhythm sections. Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed by Record Technology Incorporated on 180-gram mono vinyl in a gatefold sleeve, this represents the finest available contemporary presentation of Baker's landmark vocal debut.

Baker's voice, criticized by some for limited range and technique, possesses an emotional directness that transcends conventional vocal virtuosity. His half-spoken, half-sung delivery conveys loneliness, yearning, and a kind of bruised romanticism that made him an icon of 1950s cool jazz aesthetics. Freeman's sensitive piano accompaniment and the various rhythm sections (featuring Carson Smith and Jimmy Bond on bass, Bob Neel and others on drums) provide subtle support that never overwhelms Baker's delicate voice and trumpet. The 14 standards receive readings that have become definitive for many listeners, particularly "My Funny Valentine", which Baker essentially claimed as his signature song through this performance.

This 2023 repress of the 2020 Tone Poet release differs slightly from the original pressing in RTI plating identifiers and hype sticker wording (now "cut directly from the original analog tapes" rather than "mastered from"). The Tone Poet Series represents Blue Note's commitment to audiophile-quality reissues using all-analog mastering by Kevin Gray, RTI's premium pressing, and Stoughton tip-on gatefold packaging. Note the spine printing error stating "Stereo" when this is a mono pressing, carried over from the 2020 edition.