JAZZ ICONS: CHET BAKER LIVE IN '64 AND '79

Series 1

Chet Baker

Jazz Icons: Chet Baker features two concerts by the foremost interpreter of the West Coast school of cool jazz. Filmed in Europe 15 years apart, these two shows seen together provide an overview of Baker's illustrious career. The first show is a haunting 1964 performance in a Belgian TV studio with a quartet including long-time sidemen saxophonist Jacques Pelzer and French pianist Rene Urtreger. Songs include the Miles Davis classic, So What, and the jazz standard Time After Time (a very rare rendition featuring Chet's Cool vocal style). The soulful 1979 set from Norway, with a trio featuring vibraphonist Wolfgang Lackerschmid, highlights the growth and maturity of this troubled but inspiring artist. 16 page booklet featuring: liner notes by Grammy -winning author Rob Bowman; foreword by Chet's son, Paul; rare photographs; memorabilia collage.

The 9 volume Jazz Icons series features classic performances from some of the greatest legends of the past 50 years, captured in their prime in various locations from the 1950s through the 1970s. The DVDs are transferred from the original masters, and each DVD features a 16-page booklet with an essay written by an authoritative jazz historian as well as rare and unseen photos. The series is produced with the full support and cooperation of the artists or their estates, many of whom are contributing rare personal photographs, memorabilia, and forewords. These concerts have never been officially released on home video, and in many cases, the material was never broadcast. We are very proud to present all nine of these DVDs.

"This is like the discovery of a bonanza of previously unknown manuscripts of plays by William Shakespeare." Nat Hentoff, Wall Street Journal.

"These nine historic DVDs are among the most important visual/aural documents to be mined from the ever-yielding, seemingly hidden jazz treasury. Now, most importantly, they are available to the entire world."
Ira Gitler, co-author, The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (Oxford)

"Considering the almost alarming proliferation of jazz DVDs on the market today, and their extremely variable quality, it is good to know that Reelin In The Years can be trusted to bring viewers nothing but the best in content and presentation."
Dan Morgenstern, Director, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University; author, Living With Jazz (Pantheon Books)

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