With his striking good looks and brilliant trumpet technique, Chet Baker was the
epitome of jazz cool in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s until drug dependency
contrived to wreck both. The son of a professional guitarist, Baker's musical
involvement began with him singing in local church choirs in Oklahoma,
gravitating to trombone and trumpet at his father's behest. He left school at 16
to join the US Army but left in 1950 to pursue a musical career - initially
joining the Sixth Army Band in San Francisco. Involvement at various San
Francisco clubs fuelled his interest in jazz and, aft...