The Complete Tokyo Concert (1987)
Chet Baker's excellent Tokyo concert of June 14, 1987 was filmed for the Japanese market, and bootleg copies have been passed around for years among jazz fans. The concert was, until 2006, available only on Japanese Laserdisc, long out of print.. Now the "complete" concert (9 of the 13 tunes) are now available on DVD from Impro-Jazz. The concert can also be found on some other labels, usually entitled "My Funny Valentine".

The video has a lot of the same tunes as the Chet Baker in Tokyo CD, with the addition of "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" and "Beatrice". Chet's leads one of his finest bands, with Harold Danko at the piano, Hein Ven Der Geyn on bass and John Engels on drums. For some unknown reason, the quality of the DVD release is inferior to prior Laserdisc prints. But fans will take quantity over quality, and its nice to see those extra tunes finally added.

In addition to sounding good, Chet looks good too. Anyone who's seen his performances in the '80s knows that the trumpeter usually appeared onstage in jeans, t-shirt and sandals. Here, Chet looks sharp in a nice blue suit, his hair neatly combed. He smiles warmly at the enthusiastic response from the Japanese audience. 

The concert is virtually flawless. This is how Chet should be remembered.