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As Though I Had Wings
This is the one to start from
Hooked for life
BUY CHET'S CDs, ANY OF THEM...
Not funny, valentine

As Though I Had Wings: The Lost Memoir
Chet Baker
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312167970

Amazon.com

Chet Baker, poster child for West Coast Cool Jazz and patron saint of its notorious lush life, kept a diary. Published by his estate and introduced by his widow, his entries have been tailored to a memoir of his life from 1946 to 1963. These are the years of his rise to stardom in music and movies--and his tumble into the trenches of incarceration and drug abuse. The book is divided into 13 quick-reading chapters in which Baker writes of his life as a musician, all seasoned with tales of drugs, prison terms, and a laundry list of romances. Often, though, his writings are not spicy enough; births, deaths, pregnancies, and car chases are noted without much detail. What must have been extremely charged times are written about with a kind of academic disinterest: "Moving quickly toward the noise, as did everyone else, I saw Dick lying on the floor. He had passed out cold, and several people were trying to figure out what was wrong with him. We located a doctor and cleared the stage area. I should point out that Dick had always taken care of business; always at work on time and always playing exceptionally." While some readers may be disappointed by the lack of layered passion one hears in Baker's voice or in the smooth and solid sound of his horn, there is still considerable value in reading his own account of his story.

Book Description

The beloved yet infamous Chet Baker-trumpeter, crooner, junkie, and doomed James Dean-like icon of 1950s jazz-has always projected an air of mystery (and even more so, perhaps, in the years since his death in the late 1980s). In these recently uncovered diary-entries, the mystery fades as we find that Baker's pure trumpeting, aching vocals, and now-classic renditions of many jazz standards all belie the turmoil of a wretched private life governed by addiction and abandon.Baker dominated the jazz scene of the 1950s, working closely with the likes of Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper, and Stan Kenton. By the Sixties, however, he found himself caught in an incessantly downward spiral of heroin, cocaine, and prescription drugs. In and out of jail, in and out of relationships, criss-crossing the Atlantic, looking for gigs in the States and in Europe, searching of some sort of redemption-such is the life we encounter firsthand in these pages.This memoir is must-reading for all students of jazz history and modern American pop culture.

Customer Reviews:

As Though I Had Wings .......2006-07-03

It was informative, but very short. Chet Baker told his srories to the author, who wrote the book, but there were only about twelve stories.

This is the one to start from.......2004-12-27

I actually love Chet since I've been a fan to him when I begin playing the trumpet in middle school and all of that. Maybe 'cuz I never read a whole lot 'bout him but it's easy for me to go cop that and move on to the other biographies which I have'nt read yet. I'ma give it 4 stars just b/c it was really fun reading and enjoyable. I highly recommend you should check Young Chet: The Chet Baker Story, the documentaries Let's Get Lost and Live at Ronnie's Scott, The life of Chet Baker or sumthin.

This is must-read to those who wants to hear the true story about Chet. As to say Chet is one of my favorite trumpet players of all-time.

Hooked for life.......2002-07-29

His writing is like his music, you are either deeply touched by it or else throw it aside as shallow and unimportant.
But if you open yourself up to his clear style, let yourself be invaded by his soft and melodious phrasing, his superb timing ... you are hooked for life !

BUY CHET'S CDs, ANY OF THEM..........2002-07-05

I bought this book when it came out. couldn't wait. read it, wanted to slit my wrist and shoved it away! Re-read the thing recently and my opinion hasn't changed. You'll be inclined to take up smoking (or start again!), or some other balm after this relentless 'downer.' I wish I had bought a CD of Chet's I don't already have instead. After all, the MUSIC IS THE MAN, and, my God! what music. Mr. Baker's unique ability -- from the depths of abuse, desperation and excess -- IS HIS BIOGRAPHY, his legacy, and his brilliance. Don't read, just listen, close your eyes, and be transported!

Not funny, valentine.......2001-01-22

It has always been a puzzle to me how an artist with the originality of Chet Baker, tries, and finally succeds, in destroying his talent and then himself;not necessarily in that order.

I just ordered Jeroen de Valk's book. I hope it gives me a more balanced perspective of Baker, who's music makes me smile and cry at the same time........

Average customer rating:

As Though I Had Wings: the Lost Memoir.
Chet. Baker
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTDY2I

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