Where I live, it’s raining everyday, and at this time of the year, it’s quite unusual. It’s also quite unpleasant, as I often than not get caught in the rain, often at the worst times. But when it’s the evening, when I can relax and chill, I find myself often than not putting on some music. Recently, my rain music has almost entirely consisted of Chet Baker, and his album ‘The Best of Chet Baker Sings’, which is also the subject of this review.

Chet Baker is known for his soft jazz feel, giving the same feeling as the modern-day genre of lo-fi. You can shimmy to the beat, but its meant for you to calm down and relax. His songs also have that romantic ballad feel, similar to what you find in a Disney princess movie. At the end of a listening session, you just feel relaxed, with a tinge of melancholy.

The instruments are amazing, especially for the style Baker is going for. The basic rhythm section (bass, piano and drums) are interesting and expressive enough to be enticing on their own and also not overpowering so Baker can shine. Talking about Baker, let’s talk about his two instruments. The first is his muted, quivering trumpet. It emulates a sound of a bee, buzzing around the roses, yet less annoying. You could call me, a trumpet player myself, biased, and you’re probably right. But I don’t care. Because if I’m in a world there’s someone who had a voice you hear in these tracks, then I’m happy OH WAIT IT’S ALSO CHET BAKER. Yes, Baker’s voice is articulate, shaky and soft and giving a similar experience to ASMR. As in orgasmic. As in I need to change pants. He has the voice of an angel, figuratively and literally as he’s dead. It’s lovely and loveable.

The songs in this 20-song album are quite standard, quite literally, as the album is dominated by jazz standards. Thankfully, this isn’t a bad thing. Jazz standards are characterised by being (mostly) simple, as you’re supposed to improvise over them. But big ol' Baker doesn’t really do that. He just plays through them. As a jazz musician, it kind of annoys me, but still, it’s quite an immaculate cover. I like the slower songs of Chet Baker like My Funny Valentine and The Thrill is gone, and I like the more faster-paced-than-his-other-stuff songs like Long Ago and Far Away and But Not for Me. This type of music is quite different to the fast-paced ragtime-like swing jazz of Dizzy Gillespie and Chuck Mangione that I’m used to, but a change is always welcome. Unless it comes to the weather.

4.5/5