Chet Baker, Chet Baker Sings & Plays, 1967 on Joker

Recorded in 1959 in Milan, this was first issued in Italy as Angel Eyes on Celson, and in the US as Chet Baker With Fifty Italian Strings on Jazzland, both in 1960. It was the reissued as Chet Baker Sings and Plays by Joker Hi-Fi Records (Italy) in 1967. It’s also been called Chet Baker with Len Mercer & His Orchestra.

My copy is a 2022 Record Store Day Black Friday reissue on red vinyl by SAAR Records, which replicates the Joker labels from 1967.

Of course there’d already been Chet Baker Sings and another album called Chet Baker Sings and Plays (both on Pacific) – not sure if the reissue here wanted to evoke that earlier album. More likely they were just downplaying the strings – fifty Italian strings sounds like too many, and probably is.

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