Ammar Kalia 

Various: Chet Baker Re:imagined review – new reworkings by R&B, pop, soul and jazz artists

There are hits and misses as 15 performers including Dodie, Mxmtoon and Ezra Collective’s Ife Ogunjobi give their personal take on Baker’s unique sound
  
  

Chet Baker in 1983.
Often imitated… Chet Baker in 1983. Photograph: Frans Schellekens/Redferns

Possessing a whisper-soft voice and sweetly melodic trumpet tone, Chet Baker (1929-1988) had a sound that is often imitated yet almost impossible to master. For the latest edition of Blue Note’s Re:imagined series, in which the jazz label invites artists to produce cover versions of its back catalogue, 15 R&B, pop, soul and jazz artists have been given the unenviable task of interpreting Baker’s repertoire – with often surprising results.

The trumpeter-vocalist’s supple take on jazz standards is well reflected in singer Dodie’s delicate version of Old Devil Moon as she emphasises the original’s swaying Latin percussion. British singer-songwriter Matt Maltese’s My Funny Valentine adds a beautifully elegiac guitar line to the well-worn melody. Other approaches work less well, with US singer Mxmtoon’s clean vocal tone overpowering I Fall In Love Too Easily’s sense of wistful romance.

But for every misstep there’s another gem. Ezra Collective trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi’s bass-heavy version of the swinging Speak Low is a revelation, while Puma Blue’s It’s Always You is unsettlingly dark and reverb-laden. The Re:imagined project ultimately serves to highlight that while few can match Baker’s sound, stretching, expanding and responding to it can produce fresh delights.

Watch the video for Old Devil Moon by Dodie.
 

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