Chet Baker Sings

1	That Old Feeling 3:03
2	It's Always You 3:35
3	Like Someone in Love 2:26
4	My Ideal 4:22
5	I've Never Been in Love Before 4:29
6	My Buddy 3:19
7	But Not for Me 3:04
8	Time After Time 2:46
9	I Get Along Without You Very Well 2:59
10	My Funny Valentine 2:21
11	There Will Never Be Another You 3:00
12	The Thrill Is Gone 2:51
13	I Fall in Love Too Easily 3:21
14	Look for the Silver Lining 2:39

Barnes & Noble

He was no Sinatra --indeed, voices don't come much smaller -- but Chet Baker was one of the most affecting vocalists in jazz history. Baker's intimate, fragile singing was much like his trumpet playing -- soft-toned, lightly swinging, and spare. Yet it was emotionally direct in ways that the envy of more accomplished musicians. On the first of his recordings to feature his voice, Baker interprets superior standards that fall comfortably within his vocal capabilities, including "My Funny Valentine," the song that had earlier made him a star with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet. The promise in the young Baker's voice gives few clues to the wrong turns his life would take in years to come. Steve Futterman

All Music Guide

As Gerald Heard's liner notes point out, it's difficult to decide whether Chet Baker was a trumpet player who sang or a singer who played trumpet. When the 24-year-old California-based trumpeter started his vocal career in 1954, his singing was revolutionary; as delicate and clear as his trumpet playing, with a similarly bright and vibrato-free tone, Baker simply didn't sound like any previous jazz singer. His first vocal session, recorded in February 1954 and covering tracks seven through 14 of this disc, is so innocent-sounding it's like cub reporter Jimmy Olsen had started a new career as a jazz singer. The album's first six tracks, recorded in July 1956, are even more milk and cookies, thanks in no small part to syrupy material like Frank Loesser's "I've Never Been in Love Before" and Donaldson/Kahn's drippy "My Buddy." Choices from the earlier session like "My Funny Valentine" -- arguably the definitive version of this oft-recorded song -- and "There Will Never Be Another You" work much, much better. The spacious musical setting, a simple trumpet and piano-bass-drums rhythm section, is perfect for Baker's low-key style. Despite the few faults of song selection, Chet Baker Sings is a classic of West Coast cool jazz. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide