De door het Nederlandse label 'Out of the Blue' uitgebrachte Tros Sesjun opname van Chet Baker, onder de naam The Sesjun Radio Shows is deze maand Editors' Pick in het toonaangevende jazzmagazine Downbeat. Hieronder de volledige recensie:
This is the first recording from a brand new record label dedicated to offering never-before-released collections of jazz from the Dutch broadcasting archives. If Chet Baker: The Sesjun Radio Shows is any indication, we’re in for some real treats. This is a wonderful documentation of Baker’s real talent, as opposed to his reputation as of one of the most intriguing, brilliant and inconsistent performers in the history of jazz. The reasons for that inconsistency, of course, stemmed from his life-long battle with drink and drugs. While there are so many discs of Baker’s less-than-stellar performances on CD, The Sesjun Radio Shows catches the singer/trumpeter when he was on. The tapes come from the Dutch radio show “Tros Sesjun,” a weekly program that featured live jazz from 1973 to 2004. This compilation comes from five shows Baker did for “Tros Sesjun,” dating from 1976 to 1984, a period when Baker was considered to be washed up. According to the liner notes, Baker always showed up on time and ready to play his “Tros Sesjun” gigs out of respect for producer Dick de Winter and host Cees Schrama, who were also musicians. The results are intimate and wonderful takes on the West Coast cool of Baker’s voice and trumpet. The two-disc set includes 15 Baker-fan favorites, including “I’m Old Fashioned,” “Just Friends,” “My Foolish Heart” and “Love For Sale.” Because the lineup for this recording was taken from five different performances, instrumentation and musicians change from tune to tune. Especially memorable are the flute work of Jacques Pelzer, the piano of Harold Danko, Alphonse Mouzon’s understated drum work and Phillipe Catherine’s fine guitar playing.