Book Review: Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker, by James Gavin (2002)

The paperback cover of Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker, by James Gavin, 2002. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

The jazz trumpeter Chet Baker presents an excellent argument for separating the artist from their art. Baker was gifted with a haunting romantic lyricism in his trumpet playing and singing. However, Chet Baker was also an absolutely terrible human being, as you’ll learn if you read James Gavin’s excellent 2002 biography of Baker, Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker.  

Baker was a heroin addict for the better part of 30 years, and he also chronically abused prescription drugs as well. How he made it to 58 years old is a mystery to me. Baker’s drug addiction was at least partly responsible for the awful way he treated everyone in his life, as he basically was only interested in getting money in order to feed his drug addiction.  

I started reading Deep in a Dream shortly after watching the fascinating 1988 documentary Let’s Get Lost, photographer Bruce Weber’s love letter to Baker’s youthful beauty that also pulls the rug out from under Baker’s cool mystique. About 250 pages in, I put Deep in a Dream down for a long time before finally returning to it and finishing it. That’s no criticism of James Gavin, who did a superb job of documenting Baker’s life and interviewing many, many people who knew him. But Baker was just such a terrible person that I tired of reading about him. I try to look on the bright side and attempt to find the good qualities of people. But with Chet Baker really the only positive thing I can say about him is “He played the trumpet beautifully.” And that’s the paradox of Chet Baker: how could someone who was such a toxic human being also produce beautiful, emotional music? It’s a mystery.  

Baker’s behavior leads me to the conclusion that he was probably a sociopath. There’s nothing good I can say about him: he was awful (and physically abusive) to the women in his life, he was a terrible father, he did no favors for his friends. You can open Deep in a Dream to pretty much any page and find a story of Baker doing something awful.  

I learned a lot of things from Deep in a Dream. Baker lost his left front tooth as a kid, just as he was beginning to learn the trumpet, and he didn’t get it replaced until much, much later in life. I’m amazed he was able to get the correct embouchure to play the trumpet at all. Baker played entirely by ear, and he rarely practiced. “My Funny Valentine” became Baker’s signature song, but he didn’t know the song the first time he recorded it with Gerry Mulligan in 1952—bassist Carson Smith had to teach the song to the rest of the band. (p.58)  

Baker shot to fame in the early 1950’s, in no small part due to his high cheekboned handsomeness. Miles Davis was skeptical of Baker’s talent, as he thought that a decent part of Baker’s renown was due to his handsome good looks and his palatability to white audiences. However, Davis had the last laugh as he signed to a major label, Columbia Records, in 1955. Even by that early date, there was enough skepticism about Baker’s drug use and erratic personality that no major label would touch him. Baker eventually made albums for Verve, CTI, and A&M in the 1970’s, but the fact that he only recorded one album for each label says a lot about his personality. However, Baker remained a cult figure in Europe throughout his life, and despite all of the bridges he burned, he was still able to find gigs and record for tiny European record labels. Baker eschewed royalties in favor of quick cash up front—all the better to score drugs with.  

Gavin chronicles Baker’s life exhaustively, from his rise to fame as part of the West Coast jazz scene, to Rikers Island prison, where Baker did four months for a drug conviction in 1959, to Baker’s tabloid fame in Italy, where he was arrested and served 18 months for drugs in 1960-61, to the late 1960’s, when Baker lost many of his upper teeth, either due to neglect or a beating from drug dealers, and had to re-learn how to play the trumpet again. And on and on, as Baker went across the world, playing his same repertoire of romantic songs and taking drugs.  

Partly because he recorded for so many small European labels during the 1970’s and 1980’s, Baker’s discography is a hopelessly muddled mess. The records Baker made as part of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet on Pacific Jazz/World Pacific in the 1950’s still make for enjoyable listening, 70 years after they were recorded. Baker also made successful vocal records for Pacific Jazz, including Chet Baker Sings, where you can find his famous vocal version of “My Funny Valentine.” Baker’s voice probably falls into the “love it or hate it” dichotomy. Baker sang in an extremely high tenor, so high that sometimes it’s difficult to ascertain whether the voice is male or female, which just added to his sensitive heartthrob appeal. Chet Baker & Crew is one of my favorite albums of Baker’s on Pacific Jazz, and it features many songs written by members of the West Coast jazz scene. Baker became so troublesome to Pacific Jazz that they sold/loaned his contract to Riverside, a small New York City jazz label. (Riverside was home to some big jazz stars like Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, and Wes Montgomery.) Baker made some good records for Riverside, like Chet Baker in New York, on which Baker embraces comparisons to Miles Davis as he tackles “Solar,” written by Davis, and “When Lights Are Low,” another song associated with Miles. Baker also played with longtime Davis sidemen Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. During his tenure with Riverside, Baker recorded what I would consider to be the ultimate Chet Baker album, simply titled Chet. Released in 1959, it’s an album of intimate late-night ballads that could easily double as terrific make out music. I’m also a fan of the 5 albums Baker recorded for Prestige Records in 1965. That music has been reissued on 3 CDs, On a Misty Night, Lonely Star, and Stairway to the Stars. Baker plays the fluegelhorn on these sessions, giving his sound a softer tone. Many of Baker’s records from the 1970’s and 1980’s were live recordings, and they vary greatly in sound quality and performance. 

While Baker was able to charm and con many people, one who was not fooled by him was Diane Mitchell, the wife of Leo Mitchell, who drummed with Baker in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. Diane said of Baker, “I felt the evil force the minute I met him.” (p.292) Others were not so perceptive.  

If you want to know more about the life and art of Chet Baker, Deep in a Dream is the definitive biography of the troubled trumpeter. Just be warned that it’s not a pleasant journey.  

2023 Baseball Hall of Fame BBWAA Results

Photo montage of Scott Rolen, 2023 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.

Yesterday the results of the voting for the 2023 BBWAA ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame were announced. As I correctly predicted, Scott Rolen was the only player the BBWAA elected to the Hall of Fame this year. Rolen just barely squeaked in, getting 5 votes over the 292 needed for election. Rolen set a new record for the lowest vote percentage in a player’s first year on the ballot who was eventually elected by the BBWAA. When Rolen debuted on the ballot in 2018, he was overshadowed by the quartet the BBWAA elected: Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman. Rolen received just 10.2% of the vote in 2018. I’ll admit, I didn’t even specifically mention Rolen in his first couple of years on the ballot. I’m pleased that Rolen was elected, he deserves it, as one of the best third basemen ever. JAWS ranks Rolen as the 10th best 3rd baseman ever, and I wouldn’t disagree with that. 

Moving down the ballot, Todd Helton fell 11 votes short of election, so I feel confident he’ll be elected in 2024. He was an excellent player, and of course his stats are a little skewed by playing half of his games at Coors Field.  

Billy Wagner moved up nicely to 68.1%, so he’ll probably get in. Wagner has two more years on the ballot, so it just depends on the writers being able to expand their minds enough to let Adrain Beltre, Todd Helton, and Wagner in next year. Come on BBWAA voters, it’s not that hard! You CAN let in more than one player at a time! I don’t have strong feelings about Billy Wagner, but I’m fine if he gets in. He was one of the more dominant closers for a long time. 

Andruw Jones made a 16% gain on this ballot, moving up to 58.1% of the vote in his 6th year on the ballot. Jones could break Rolen’s record of lowest percentage in a player’s first season, as he debuted in 2018 with just 7.3% of the vote. I’d be fine with Jones getting in. He was a superb defensive player-obviously, that’s not the only reason people are voting for him, but I think it’s interesting that baseball has very few players who are in the Hall of Fame strictly for their defense. Jones had a fantastic 11-year run with the Braves from 1997-2007, but after he turned 30, his career just fell off a cliff. If Jones gets in, I wonder if that would signal a change where we’d see more short-peak players elected to the Hall of Fame. 

Gary Sheffield moved up to 55%, but he only has 1 more year left on the ballot, and Helton, Wagner, and Jones ahead of him on the ballot. Some writer said something akin to “Why did Big Papi get in on the first ballot and Sheffield isn’t in?” It’s a valid question. Sheffield was a terrible defender, with negative 27.7 DWAR, but he still went out to field a position in 2,210 games, while David Ortiz only played 278 career games in the field. If Sheffield had been made a full-time DH early in his career, would he be in the Hall of Fame now? I’d also argue that Ortiz has a better narrative than Sheffield does. Oritz brings championships to Boston, swears on live TV, becomes a national hero, while Sheffield bounces from franchise to franchise.  

Carlos Beltran did well in his debut on the ballot, getting 46.5% of the vote. Without his role in the 2017 Astros cheating scandal, I think Beltran would have sailed into the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. He’s one of the best switch-hitters ever, and one of the best center fielders ever. Should Beltran’s role in the cheating scandal override his impressive resume? I don’t know if it totally should, but I’m fine with Beltran having to wait a bit for election. As usual, MLB totally botched their handling of the 2017 cheating scandal, but they were really screwed because of course the Astros players all retreated into silence, so then the only thing MLB could do was offer immunity to the current players and punish managers, coaches, and front-office personnel. So, Beltran didn’t get to become the New York Mets manager in 2020. Is that fair? Not really.  

In his final year on the ballot, Jeff Kent tied with Beltran at 46.5% of the vote. It was Kent’s highest vote total in his 10 years on the ballot. I think Kent should be a Hall of Famer, and it has continually puzzled me that he didn’t fare better. But he’s one of those players who had a reputation, fairly or unfairly, for being “difficult” with the press, and perhaps that hurt him. I predict that Kent will be elected by an Era Committee in the future.  

A Rod gained 4 votes, and moved up 1.4%, to 35.7%. That says to me that his support isn’t very fluid. The people who support him aren’t going to move, and no one new is going to be swayed to his side.  

Manny Ramirez gained 4.3%, but he’s still a long way from 75%. 

Omar Vizquel was the only returning player whose support dropped, because of allegations of spousal abuse, and also sexual harassment of a minor league batboy. Vizquel got 52.6% of the vote in 2020, and now that’s down to 19.5%.  

Andy Pettitte is at 17%. Ho hum. 

Bobby Abreu moved up to 15.4% in his 4th year on the ballot. That’s good, he’s climbing out of the Kenny Loggins danger zone. I think Abreu should be strongly considered for the Hall, and hopefully he’ll continue to gain votes. Here’s an interesting stat for you-the only players who have 400 or more stolen bases and 250 or more home runs are: Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Craig Biggio, and Bobby Abreu. Not a bad list to be on.  

Jimmy Rollins moved up to 12.9% in his 2nd year on the ballot. I think Rollins should be strongly considered for the Hall as well, so I’m glad he’s over 10%. 

Mark Buehrle made a 5% gain, to 10.8%. I’m fine with Buehrle staying on the ballot, although I’m not really convinced he’s a Hall of Famer.  

I said that Francisco Rodriguez was the only other newcomer to the 2023 ballot that would possibly get more than 5% of the vote, and I was correct, as he got 10.8%, which is more votes than I thought he’d get. 

After losing votes in 2022, my boy Torii Hunter gained 6 votes to move up to 6.9% in his 3rd year on the ballot. Phew! As a Twins fan, Torii Hunter was one of my favorite players, so I’m always holding my breath for him every year, hoping he’ll stay above 5%. Hunter won 9 Gold Gloves, and he’s in the top 100 all-time in total bases, doubles, home runs, RBIs, and extra base hits. I’m biased, so I don’t know if Hunter should really be in the Hall of Fame, but lesser resumes have won election to the Hall of Fame. Just sayin’.  

All of the other newcomers to the 2023 ballot failed to get 5% of the vote. It’s always interesting to recap the BBWAA balloting, and you can check back here when the 2024 ballot is announced.