Chet Baker

So when listening to music during cigar and whiskey time, I spin up a playlist called Best Jazz. It's a compilation of what I think are some of the best jazz songs. Everything from Miles Davis to Duke Ellington, Mary Lou Williams, Chucho Valdez... and Chet Baker. just some good stuff.

But recently I've noticed that when Chet Baker comes on, I have to interrupt the playlist in order to queue up some Chet Baker. I have a couple of his albums and will listen to all of one or the other before continuing with Best Jazz playlist.

Chet Baker plays jazz trumpet and is very good, but his voice is very unique. It's not a strong singing voice, but it's very - for lack of a better word - vulnerable. His voice always seems to be close to cracking, but it never does. Other singers have strong voices and can really belt one out - think Joe Williams or Ella Fitzgerald. Chet Baker just has a simple voice that carries a melody with a vulnerability that's hard to describe, but nobody else has it.

And I like it.