According to this set's annotator, Mike Hennessey, and
Stan Getz's
biographer, Donald Maggin, the circumstances surrounding the making of
these 1983 recordings was unpleasant in the extreme. For various
reasons, Getz was unhappy to be concertizing with Baker and forced him
out before the 35-date tour was halfway finished. Before Baker left,
however, the men played a pair of concerts in Stockholm, which were
fortunately recorded for posterity. Fortunately not because Getz and
Baker shared any special rapport that led to a classic performance, but
because the resulting album gives listeners another example of how
wonderful a player
Chet Baker was, even after years of drug
addiction and general dissolution. Getz is his typical self -- lyrical,
facile almost to the point of glibness, but musical nevertheless. Baker,
on the other hand, is as he ever was -- one of the most spontaneously
creative, emotionally compelling voices in jazz. The band is good if
unspectacular; drummer Victor Lewis was a particularly nice choice in
that he could drive a band like this without overwhelming the rather
brittle lead voices. And Getz is excellent; if you're a Getz fan, he's
in fine form here, so you won't be disappointed. Baker, on the other
hand, is superb; it's his inimitable musicality that ultimately makes
this rather pricey three-disc set a bargain.
