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Hell's Horizon (1955) Baker's screen time is minimal, and he really doesn't have any
lines after the first 10 minutes. He is only one of two crew members
who die on this mission, but none of his mates seem to really care. It is widely believed that Chet's drug busts kept him from perusing a film career. The fact is, he had offers to do more films, but he found the experience boring and had no interest in making a career in movies. The movie was available on VHS from Goodtimes Home Video, and is currently out of print. video clips Stolen Hours (1963) This film is still available on VHS from MGM/UA Video, but has not been released on DVD. Chet Baker Live in '64 & '79 The second half of the DVD contains a 1979 concert in Norway with vibraphonist Wolfgang Lackerschmid. The setting here is lively, with Chet playing to a very enthusiastic crowd (it appears to be a college crowd). There is also a brief interview with Chet were he talks about his playing style and how it changed over the years.
This DVD well-made and well-packaged (it includes a booklet packed with photos
and a detailed bio of Chet). This is a must-have for any Chet fan. Tracks: Stan Getz & Chet Baker (1983) Chet sits out the first 2 tunes, as well as "Blood Count". This concert was released in Europe by KJ Jazz. Tracks:
(click on links for video clips) Chet Baker Trio: Sweden 1985 Tracks: Live At Ronnie Scott's (1986)
Short interviews are interspersed between the tunes. In these chats with Elvis Costello, Chet discusses his childhood, his drug busts, his teeth and more. Some of this set is available on CD as Live At Ronnie Scott's or as Nightbird. The track selection varies slightly. Tracks:
(click on links for video clips) More Clips: The Complete Tokyo Concert
(1987) 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
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 politely at the enthusiastic response from the Japanese audience. The concert is virtually flawless. This is how Chet should be remembered. Tracks: Let's Get Lost (1988) Video clips: Chet Baker - The Last Days (1990) The film does, however, have some great interviews with those who knew Chet in the early years (Freeman, Claxton) and in the later years (Hekkema, Wigt). There are at least 10 filmed performances included here. Most of them are from the "Candy" video or the 1983 Baker/Getz video.
video clips Other Chet Baker Video Clips "You Don't Know What Love Is" (1956) Chet on working with Romano Mussolini (1985)
"Portrait in Black & White" (1987) "I'm A Fool To Want You" (1988)
chetbakertribute.com |
Forgetful 1955 war film
with a B-grade cast. Chet is cast as "Jockey", the Air
Force cool cat who would rather lie in his bunk and blow his horn,
than socialize with any of his crew mates. For some reason, he
annoys Hugh Beaumont (better known as TV's Ward Cleaver) with his
insistent horn playing. The filmmakers give him
some painfully corny lines such as "You're a real sad
drag". Eventually, Jockey has to actually do some work, as
their bomber squad is called upon for a dangerous mission.
video of Chet's
wonderful 1964 TV appearance recording in Belgium, with all five tracks from the
Brussels 1964 CD. The setting is laid back, a nice casual studio setting. The
session in beautifully filmed in nice crisp black and white, which seems to add
even more to the melancholy mood.
Stan Getz and Chet
Baker's all-too-short 1983 European tour is famous for the riffs
between the two jazz giants. It was well known that the two men did
not like each other, and you can see the cold interaction between
them on this video. Getz seems restless, and he constantly gets up
and wanders off stage. His playing is good, but most of the time he is
out-played by Baker. 
The video has
one completely unnecessary and poor
vocal performance by Van Morrison, as well as two pretty good vocal
performances by Elvis Costello. I'm a big fan of Costello, but they
should have saved this time for a few more pieces by Chet and his
trio. The camera spends a lot of time on close-ups of Chet. You can
see every crease in his weathered face.
his finest
bands, with Harold Danko
at the piano,
Hein Ven Der Geyn on bass and
John Engels on drums.
great interviews with Chet and those
who knew him. Unfortunately, the filmmaker depicts the trumpeter as a washed-up
musician with his best days behind him. You almost get the feeling when
watching this film that Bruce Weber knew that Chet had less than a year to
live, and wanted to make this film an obituary, rather than a documentary.
are a few clips of Chet's Italian movies, and well
as a short clip from Hell's Horizon, but sadly, there are very few
old musical performance clips. The interviews with Chet's family become
uncomfortable at times, and the spots with his old pal Jack Sheldon are
great.