Chet Baker was the epitome of cool... the possessor of the kind oflooks that usually only featured in the most elegant of Hollywoodmovies. He also played the trumpet in a way that transcended jazzboundaries, and won him countless admirers among those who didn’tnormally stoke their hi-fis with bebop sounds. An opportunity to playalongside the legendary Charlie Parker provided Chet’s start in thejazz life - and that same year, 1952, he became a member of GerryMulligan’s ground-breaking piano-less quartet - a combo that madethe sort of recordings that were essential to those of a hip genre.