Bird and Chet at the Trade Winds features legendary jazz saxophonist
Charlie "Bird" Parker performing live at the Trade Winds nightclub in Inglewood, California in 1952. Joining
Parker on this date was the then relatively unknown West Coast trumpeter
Chet Baker. As with his idol, trumpeter
Miles Davis,
Baker had a softer, more melodic approach to playing bebop and the pairing struck some at the time as odd. However,
Baker's appearances with
Parker during this period helped launch his career and prefigured his later work with baritone saxophonist
Gerry Mulligan and as an iconic solo artist. Here,
Baker often plays under and off of
Parker much in the same way
Davis did a few years earlier. While these are lo-fi recordings, they are some of the only known recordings of
Baker performing with
Parker, and that alone makes them an invaluable document for jazz fans. ~ Matt Collar