Chet Baker Quintet featuring Warne Marsh - Blues for a Reason (Criss Cross, 1985)

This post is by Dan

Chet Baker (t); Warne Marsh (ts); Hod O'Brien (p); Cecil McBee (b); Eddie Gladden (d)

Recorded September 30, 1984

Blues for a Reason is a great Criss Cross release that pairs Warne Marsh with Chet Baker. I'm not sure if the two ever played together before. If not, this is a unique and historic meeting - neither man would survive the decade.

Given the players' drastic differences in approach and reputation, what might the listener expect? A clash or a melding of styles? Actually neither. Instead, we get a nicely measured set of tunes on which both lead voices get ample room to play in their own style. It works famously, although I doubt that either player expected their teamwork to continue.

The most interesting moments on the album are when Baker and Marsh play together, either stating a tune's theme, or revisiting the theme toward the end of a piece. In these ensemble sections it's clear that Baker is playing what he wants to (on either muted or open horn) while Marsh slithers and darts around him. Marsh seems to delight in clever counterpoint to Baker's more direct phrases, and the rhythm section appears to dig the interplay between them. "Well Spoken," "We Know It's Love," and "Looking Good Tonight" are the best examples of this formula. (Can you guess the names of the original songs on which these variations are based? My answers below - no peeking).  

Two ballad standards, "If You Could See Me Now" and "Imagination," are quartet features for Baker and Marsh, respectively. Baker's ballad feature is glorious. His late artistry is full of emotion and vulnerability, and this is one of the best opportunities to hear it. Marsh takes a more oblique approach to balladry, preferring to dispatch the melody quickly before embarking on unsentimental variations. On both of these quartet tracks, Hod O'brien finds his best solo space. 

The CD reissue includes two bonus tracks, which are alternative takes of "Looking Good Tonight" and "We Know It's Love." I prefer the vinyl and don't have the digital anymore. 

Listening to this album, I can only marvel at how wonderous an art form jazz is. It permits two musicians (one deteriorating from substance abuse and the other criminally underappreciated) to enter a recording studio, having never played together before, and create a masterpiece. 

Answers:

We Know It's Love (Love for Sale?).

Looking Good Tonight (Just the Way You Look Tonight?) 

Well Spoken (Speak Low?)