The Chet Baker Quintet, Bobby Jaspar – Chet Baker And His Quintet With Bobby Jaspar (Sam Records)

Following an offer from Nicole Barclay, Chet Baker arrived in Paris in early September 1955. On the 22nd - or perhaps the 23rd - he signed a contract to make seven records.... (The number was later deleted and replaced by "three", which proved to be correct). This final volume, which appeared after the trumpeter's return to the US, was construed as a rather poor relation to the other volumes in the trilogy, especially since the sleeve-notes, written in haste, did little to convey to Caesar what belonged to Caesar. Unlike the earlier works, this one was by no means a concept album: it contented itself with a simple overview of Chet's Parisian associations, depending on where his fantasies took him during the course of his stay.

When Chet entered the Pathé-Magellan studio on 25 October, only one member of his original accompanying trio was still present: pianist Dick Twardzik had died of an overdose, and drummer Peter Littman had returned home after selling his set for what it would fetch. Jimmy Bond and his double bass were both still around, however, and in the octet session that followed, Chet's melodic gifts were enhanced by (remarkable) scores penned by Pierre Michelot - "Chet", "Dinah" - and Christian Chevalier "Vline".

The three Pièces were mini-concerts, and the trumpeter loved them so much that he decided to play them again in America.... but not so successfully. On 28 November, Chet went back to the same studio, this time with Raymond Fol on piano, Benoît Quersin on bass and Jean-Louis Viale on drums. They recorded two improvisations: The first was based on a 1932 standard by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, "Alone Together", while the second began with "Exitu's", a composition written by one of Baker's friends, Phil Urso. The performances were among the finest Chet produced during this period, along with "Chekeetah" - or "Chik-Etah" - and "How about You?", which sealed a partnership that had first crystallised at the Club Saint-Germain, temporarily renamed for the occasion: "Every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 4. 30 to 19.30 at Club Barclay's - 13 rue Saint-Benoît, Paris - Bobby Jaspar Quintet with American trumpeter Chet Baker", the sign read.

The format was stylistically ideal, prompting Chet to abandon the quartet format he had preferred until then. To respect his next bookings, Chet had to put together a stable band, and as pianist he chose Raph Schecroun - later known as Errol Parker - who was himself replaced by Francy Boland. Alongside him were bassist Eddie de Haas, who had previously been with Martial Solal, and Henri Renaud (the latter also lost his regular drummer in this adventure, Charles Saudrais, who was just seventeen years old.

Jean-Louis Chautemps says: "When Bobby Jaspar couldn't make it or just wanted too much, they looked for someone cheaper; and that was me. There wasn't really an audition: We were at Tabou, I played with Chet, he said OK, and two days later we found ourselves in Reykjavik, Iceland. The tune "Tasty Puddin'g", written by Al Cohn, and "Anticipated Blues", one of the rare pieces Chet is said to have written, were part of the repertoire of this last Baker-led formation on the old continent.

Both pieces once again prompted Pierre Michelot to pass judgement: "With ordinary means, Chet managed to play phrases of extraordinary beauty with simplicity and clarity". (samrecords. fr)