I believe that Chet Baker is maybe the most gifted trumpeter with whom I ever played or ever heard, admitted Gerry Mulligan during an interview. There was a direct line from his musical ideas to his trumpet. The musical rapport between the two horn players was evident from the start. Baker was the perfect complement to Mulligan's playing and writing style. When these recordings were made, Gerry Mulligan, at the age of 25, already had a decade of professional experience as a musician under his belt. While Mulligan was a rising star, Chet Baker s career was just beginning. One of the greatest trumpeters and most popular cult-figures in jazz history, Baker was as famous for his rugged good looks and stormy personal life as he was for his gentle vocals and lyrical introspective trumpet playing. Gaining fame as a member of Gerry Mulligan s heralded piano-less quartet, Baker quickly became the undisputed trumpet king of the 1950s West Coast cool jazz sound. This reissue presents the quartet's complete initial 10 LP (A1-A4 & B1-B4), plus a number of other performances from the same sessions.

1. Frenesi 3:11
2. Freeway 2:47
3. Soft Shoe 2:40
4. Aren't You Glad You're You? 2:53
5. Line For Lyons 2:35
6. Carioca 2:28
7. My Funny Valentine 2:58
8. Bark For Barksdale 3:16
9. Utter Chaos #1 0:37
10. Bernie's Tune 2:53
11. Walkin' Shoes 3:13
12. Nights At the Turntable 2:55
13. Lullaby of the Leaves 3:16
14. My Old Flame 3:14
15. Love Me or Leave Me 2:44
16. Jeru 2:32
17. Utter Chaos #2 0:24