Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker
by James Gavin
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From his emergence in the 1950s as an uncannily beautiful young Oklahoman who became the prince of ?cool" jazz seemingly overnight to his violent, drug-related death in Amsterdam in 1988, Chet Baker lived a life that has become an American myth. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and previously untapped sources, this first major biography of one of the most romanticized icons in jazz gives a thrilling account of the trumpeter's dark journey. Author James Gavin delves deeply into Baker's show more tormented childhood, the origins of his melancholic trumpet playing, and even reveals the long-unsolved riddle of Baker's demise. Baker's otherworldly personal aura struck a note of menace and mystery that catapulted him to fame in the staid 1950s but as time wore on, his romance with drugs became highly publicized. Gavin narrates the harrowing spiral of dependency down which Baker tumbled and illustrates how those who dared to get close were dragged down with him. This is the portrait of a musician whose singular artistry and mystique has never lost the power to enchant and seduce. show lessTags
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This book traces the incredible life of an American trumpeter jazz icon, Chet Baker. Blue Note Records has released a sound track CD for this book, programmed and annotated by the author. Also entitle Deap in a Dream, it includes two previously unissued vocal tracks.
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Music Journalism and Biography
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Author Information
James Gavin is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, among other publications. He lives in New York City. His latest book is a biography entitled, Stormy Weather: Lena Horne. The book is entitled, Stormy Waether: The Life of Lena Horne. (Publisher Fact Sheets)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker
- Original publication date
- 2002
- Epigraph
- "We gotta go and never stop going till we get there"
"Where we going, man?"
"I don't know but we gotta go."
-JACK KEROUAC, On the Road - Dedication
- For Cindy Bitterman, William Claxton, and Robin Swados. If it weren't for you this would never have happened.
- First words
- Prologue: Graveside funerals dotted the rolling hills of the Inglewood Park Cemetery, in a residential black neighborhood on the outskirts of L.A.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Epilogue: "There's no more music in the house."
- Blurbers
- Thomson, David; Sudhalter, Richard M.
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- Members
- 166
- Popularity
- 196,594
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.82)
- Languages
- 5 — Dutch, English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 17
- ASINs
- 2
