If you’ve never heard of Chet Baker, you should definitely take a few minutes to check out his bio on Wikipedia here. I was in my early teens when I first heard his quintessential rendition of “My Funny Valentine” and it has stuck with me as one of my faves ever since. Nothing comes even close.
His troubled life of heroin addiction and jail throughout the 50’s and 60’s has been portrayed in two good movies: All The Fine Young Cannibals (Robert Wagner, 1960) and Born To Be Blue (Ethan Hawker, 2015). It just amazes me that someone on heroin could record something this moving.
The version below is from his Live in Tokyo album that was recorded a year before his untimely death in 1988. He fell from a 2nd floor window in Amsterdam where heroin and cocaine was found in his hotel room. It’s kinda long – almost 10 minutes – but if you’re in the mood, sit back with a nice bourbon and enjoy…
