Remember Chet??

[Wyatt]

Good morning,

Well today I did something I try to do regularly..I  listen to something of Chet Atkins every so often because of his effortless, transparent mastery of the instrument..
.. (repeat after me: my name is____and I am a guitar player)..
..listening to his playing is guaranteed to flush pretentious cr@p right out of your ears. 

I still have one CD of Chet Atkins playing with Les Paul..(now if you remember when, this is a veritable time machine, and yes, it will transport you right back there). I was lucky enough a couple years ago to get ahold of two of them..(I saw them selling for up to $150 used, but got a couple from Japan for like $25.)

Man, the stuff they managed to do back then, before all these magical digital gizmos! Want a real lift? ..listen to anything Chet recorded.

Seriously, his playing is worth having a listen to. He devoted himself and his not inconsiderable talent to the SONG..he didn't get up on stage in leather pants doing "look-at-me" licks..he just poured his whole heart into making every song sound as good as he could make it sound. (..and he also helped a lot of little guys get a foot in the door.)

OK..thanks for listening..I feel better..now I'm ready to get back to that cantankerous mix..that mix that never seems to get finished, no matter how many times I work on it!   

Wyatt

[kara]

You are right Wyatt, one of my all time favourites is when he plays 'Vincent' together with Don Mc Lean 

I think I know of what mix you are talking there 

k

[Wyatt]

Thanks for your comment, Kara.

Yes..that one is considered by many to be one of his very best!!
Excellent choice!!

..another one I like..and it's an old one, is Mr. Sandman..it is so
unique with that intro, and I can remember hearing that song when
I was young sung by the Andrews Sisters, IIRC.

I have had a ball playing harp along with Chet and his ensemble as well.

Wyatt

[kara]

Have a look at this one : http://youtube.com/watch?v=n-c66SJPuUI

Is that you playing Wyatt ? 

k

[kara]

This one is a good one too : http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ixr-73YCaLQ&feature=related

I actually didn't know that he played together with Mark Knopfler
2 guitar monsters for the price of one 

k

[kara]

Talking about all time favourites
This is mine : http://youtube.com/watch?v=dX-hMhMTjEg
another chet, but what a jazz man 


This one is a good version too : http://youtube.com/watch?v=-H8EGnPWb_I&feature=related
with another monster of the old jazz world

I"ve seen this song performed hundreds times by other artist, some of which real top jazz artists, but they never do it as well as THE man.

k

[offthewall]

Yes, one of his more recent albums, maybe less than 10 years ago(?), was Neck and Neck with Knopfler. It's one of my all time favourites with both players feeding off each others styles.  Terrific stuff.
 
James

[kara]

And a question for the jazz experts 
Who was the favourite bass player of Chet Baker ?

k

[Wyatt]

@Kara:

 Sandman>>Wow..thank you man!! ..that was absolutely terriffic to SEE it as well as hear it.

..and then with Mark Knopfler..my two favorites..that is too very cool! 

..and thanks for Chet Baker too..gonna have to make some room on my favorites list..

..great song..maybe you and Azell can do that one in French sometime??

@OffTheWall:

..now I know you're getting old too..haha..I first got Neck and Neck on CD for a birthday
present more than 20 years ago!! ..time slips away, buddy.

..hey, that surprised me too a couple years ago, when I stopped in a CD store to buy a
replacement copy. 

Wyatt

[folderol]

Hmmmm.

I see someone just found the key to the gates across memory lane again.

<sigh>

[kara]

Nobody knows 
I tought we had a couple bass players here on the board ?

k

And a question for the jazz experts 
Who was the favourite bass player of Chet Baker ?

k

[Wyatt]

..Paul Chambers?

..Red Mitchell?

Wyatt

[kara]

Close but no cigare 

It's actually Carson Smith.
It is actualy Carson who introduced My funny Valentine in the set of the band.
When the band played in Los Angeles they had the following members : Chet Baker on trumpet, Chico Hamilton on drums, and Bob Whitlock on bass.
At that epoque Carson took over from Bob and stayed with Chet, even after the breakup of that band in 1953.
Carson Smith is one of the very best jazz bass players I know of, despite the fact that he never has been realy famous.

Typical example of a good bass player I guess, a real workhorse but nobody knows his name 

..Paul Chambers?

..Red Mitchell?

Wyatt

[Wyatt]

Typical example of a good bass player I guess, a real workhorse but nobody knows his name 

Oh no!  ..did he get any chicks??

 

Wyatt

[beboop]

It is actualy Carson who introduced My funny Valentine in the set of the band.
When the band played in Los Angeles they had the following members : Chet Baker on trumpet, Chico Hamilton on

yeah, that was a great band, with Mulligan and Baker.  Larry Bunker (maybe most famous for his stint with Bill Evans) also played drums with them for a while.

One of my favorite things ever is that live album they did with Lee Konitz -- it's all great, but Chet's solo on I'll Remember April is some kind of pinnacle -- so simple, not a wasted note, so beautiful.

I don't know how it is elsewhere, but in the US I doubt you'd find one in a thousand, or ten thousand, who'd recognize Mulligan or Baker, much less the bass player.  Pretty much only musicians and hardcore jazz fans know them here.