It Could Happen To You

They Say...

Review by Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide

The ultra-hip and sophisticated "cool jazz" that Chet Baker (trumpet/vocals) helped define in the early '50s matured rapidly under the tutelage of producer Dick Bock. This can be traced to Baker's earliest sides on Bock's L.A.-based Pacific Jazz label. This album is the result of Baker's first sessions for the independent Riverside label. The Chet Baker Quartet featured on Chet Baker Sings It Could Happen to You consists of Kenny Drew (piano), Sam Jones (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). These were likewise augmented with performances by George Morrow (bass) and Danny Richmond (drums) on a few cuts. This resulted in the successful combination of Baker's fluid and nonchalant West Coast delivery with the tight swinging accuracy of Philly Joe Jones and Kenny Drew. Nowhere is this balance better displayed than the opening and closing sides on the original album, "Do It the Hard Way" and "Old Devil Moon," respectively. One immediate distinction between these vocal sides and those recorded earlier in the decade for Pacific Jazz is the lissome quality to both Baker's playing and, most notably, his increased capacity as a vocalist. "I'm Old Fashioned" and "While My Lady Sleeps" -- the latter being one of two additional tracks added to the CD edition -- display a sense of strength and restraint. The brilliant song selection certainly doesn't hurt either. This is an essential title in Chet Baker's 30-plus year canon. [An import CD version of the LP with two bonus tracks was also released.]