Chet Baker Sings

Sexy, beautiful, troubled, and wild, trumpeter Chet Baker embodied West Coast jazz cool when he recorded his first tracks as a singer in 1954. Baker's fragile, sweet tenor makes him sound ineffably vulnerable on these 14 wistful ballads that alienated traditional jazz fans while broadening his popularity considerably. The highlight remains "My Funny Valentine," the first version of a number he'd record more than 100 times afterward, where he sounds like a handsome prince coolly serenading some lucky Cinderella.