On Sunday 12th May the Retro Chet Quartet are back at Cafe Yukari with a preview of their European tour (well, the Laurens Jazz Club in South West France but that counts as a tour for us).
Cafe Yukari is an intimate space to play music with a magnificent Fazioli grand piano piloted by the equally magnificent Caroline Copper suitably supported by Paul Michael on double bass, Katrina Likhtman on vocals and Geoff on trumpet (and vocals).
Come and join us for a relaxed, fun and musically satisfying evening.
Doors open at 6.30 with a pre show and or interval dining option. Music from 7.30 to 8.15 then 8.45 to 9.30, There is an off license just next to the Cafe or posh wine shops the other side of the railway. Cafe Yukari is just across the Square from the East side of Kew Station. The cafe is over cozy with more than 25 people so ticket numbers are limited. You can book via the web site below.
By the way, Caroline’s big night out with Paul at the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall went swimmingly well. She has also learnt how the indicators and reversing lights work on a Fazioli so prepare to be impressed.
If you want to book for the Laurens Jazz Club on Thursday 30th May e-mail wendy@corkeogg.com Wendy is a fabulous host. These concerts are always memorable for the right reasons though it is quite a long drive from West London. To reserve a table at Yukari for this Sunday (May 12) use the box below
Retro Chet Quintet in Laurens May 30th 2024
We are delighted to be back at the Laurens Jazz Club on Thursday May 30th
A rare outing for the Band as a Quintet with our new best friend Gil Rouvet
Gil is Professor of Jazz & Contemporary Music at the Darius Milhaud Conservatoire in Aix en Provence and a regular performer on the French jazz scene at clubs including Hotbrass, Scat in Aix, La Pelle & Le Caravel in Marseille, playing with jazz musicians including Pierre Fenichel, Christophe Levan, Lilian Bencini, Antoine Lisolo, Samuel Hubert, Sam Favreau & Simon Tailleu & drummer Alain Robeson Malgache.
We are also delighted that Katrina Likhtman can join us to sing some of the great Chet solos.
Katrina has been singing various genres of music for most of her life before deciding to focus on jazz 10 years ago. She learned from best UK jazz singers Claire Martin, Brigitte Beraha, Anita Wardell, and Trudy Kerr and has been active on the jazz scene ever since. She likes to explore her varied vocal range and using her voice as an instrument. Retro Chet presents a perfect opportunity to sing Chet’s beautiful vocal numbers and occasionally blend her voice with Geoff’s trumpet. Katrina plays the piano and the guitar, sings in several languages, and is known for her love of scat singing.
Caroline Cooper is on piano, fresh from her appearance at the Elgar Room (Royal Albert Hall) celebrating the Donne Women in Music Sixth Anniversary. Paul Michael joins us on bass. Paul Michael completes the Quintet on Electric Bass.
Working title for the evening is Tempus Fugit- the later life and music of Chet Baker featuring numbers based on live and studio recordings originally made with Michel Graillier (piano) Philip Catherine (Guitar), Jean Louis Rassinfosse (Bass) and Riccardo Del Fra (Bass)
Bookings via Wendy Ogg
London Jazz Week 2023
The Retro Chet Trio, Caroline Cooper on piano, Geoff Varrall on trumpet and John Jones were at the Bull’s Head in Barnes on Tuesday 14th November 2023 as part of London Jazz week with our guest singer Katrina Likhtman recreating highlights from Chet Baker’s albums from the 1950’s and mid 1980’s. Working title for the evening was Tempus Fugit and the Best of Chet with material mainly from two of Chet Baker’s recordings, Candy from a TV studio recording in June 1985 and the iconic album ‘Mr B.’ As Matthew Ruddick notes in his excellent book on Chet Baker, ‘My Funny Valentine’, “Mr B” is a beautiful album in which Chet moves away from his ‘bop’ orientated sound of the late 1970’s to a softer, more melodic tone that was to become a feature of his later recordings.’
Thanks to John Jones for bravely stepping in on double bass at the last minute and playing very beautifully.
About the Retro Chet Collective
The collective was formed in the summer of 2017 to mark the 30th anniversary of Chet Baker’s Last Night in Tokyo Concert. If you have never listened to it, this is one of Chet Baker’s best recordings from a live show with Harold Danko on piano, Hein Van De Geyn on double bass and John Engells on drums. We ran the show twice at the Bulls Head in Barnes and had a great time working to get as close as we could to the sound and feel of the original recording.
We have used Chet Baker source recordings from studio sessions and concerts from 1955 onward up to Chet’s final concert in Hannover on April 28 1988, just two weeks before his death in Amsterdam. We ran the show for the first time at The Queen Charlotte Theatre in Richmond on the exact anniversary of the concert with two follow on quartet performances, the first at the Chateau in the beautiful town of Laurens in the heart of the Herault region in South West France and then at the Exchange Theatre in Twickenham (West London).
We called the show Let’s Get Lost , the title of a song from the 1943 film Happy Go Lucky recorded by Chet Baker in 1955 but also the title of Bruce Weber’s biopic of Chet’s life, released posthumously in 1989. We also have a show recreating the albums that Chet Baker recorded between 1979 and 1985 with the guitarists Doug Raney and Philip Catherine. A follow on show, If I Should Lose You, had its first outing at the Queen Charlotte Theatre in Richmond.
Read on for more information about the life and music of Chet Baker, the Band and our past concerts.
THE LIFE
Chet Baker started playing professionally in the early 1950’s working with the baritone saxophone player and arranger/composer Gerry Mulligan and then with pianist Russ Freeman. Baker was voted America’s top trumpeter by Downbeat Magazine in 1955 ahead of Dizzie Gillespie, Miles Davis and Clifford Brown and helped to establish a West Coast style dominated by white musicians. The pressure of living up to this elevated status helped fuel Chet Baker’s appetite for a potent mix of hash, heroin and cocaine. His drug taking influenced his professional playing career, destroyed three marriages and ultimately led to his early death in Amsterdam on May 13 1988.
Always short of money, Chet Baker is one of the most recorded, some would say over recorded Jazz artists in history and his discography includes albums with Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, and Paul Desmond. Chet Baker is also one of the most photographed Jazz artists due to the work of William Claxton and the subject of Bruce Weber’s posthumous biopic, Let’s Get Lost.
As source material we use session and live recordings from the Fifties (Deep in a Dream, The Trumpet Artistry of Chet Baker for Dick Bock, Pacific Records and Chet in Paris 1955 for the Barclay Label, the Sixties (Chet is Back, The Italian Sessions and The Most Important Jazz Album of 1964/65 including Tadd’s Delight by Tadd Cameron), the Seventies (1974 Carnegie Hall Concert with Gerry Mulligan, She was Too Good for Me and Jim Hall’s Concierto, both with arrangements by Don Sebesky) and the Eighties (Last Night in Tokyo and the Stuttgart and Hannover concerts) and his duo work with the pianist, Paul Bley and guitarist Caterina Valente.
THE BAND
Geoff Varrall – Trumpet, Flugel Horn and Cornet
Over a long playing career Geoff has covered musical styles from brass band through to Jazz ballads and Be Bop. He set up the Retro Chet Collective as a vehicle for recreating Chet Baker’s Last Concert in Tokyo for two performances at the Bulls Head in Barnes. The project has evolved to capture the best of Chet Baker’s playing career which ended tragically early when he died on May 13 1988.
Geoff also runs a function band.. available for bookings…
www.fascinatingrhythm.com
Peter Miles – Drums
Since starting playing aged 10 in a Brisbane school marching band, Peter has worked with an amazing number of bands and artists including, in Australia, Matt Taylor and Mick Rogers (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band), Terry Hannagan, Mick Hadley and Max Merritt; in the UK, Dave Kelly’s RockSalt, Bob Hall, the Jo Ann Kelly Band, the Bob Bruning Band, Alexis Korner, Errol Dixon, Johnny Mars Band, Rocket 88 with Dick Morrissey, Jack Bruce, Don Weller, Paul Cox, Danny Adler Band, Paddy Milner, Gary Fletcher, Top Topham, Shakey Vick, Diz Watson, Daniel Smith Band, John Idan Band and Radical Sheikhs. Peter has also backed touring American Blues artists Big John Wrencher, Homesick James, Lightning Slim, JB Hutto, Dr Ross, Cousin Joe Pleasants and Eddie Guitar Burns. Peter cites Steve Gadd, one of Chet Baker’s key sidemen as one of his key influences alongside, Buddy Rich, Roy Haynes and Joe Morello.
Caroline Cooper – piano and keyboards
Caroline has played with Vasili Xenopoulos, Nigel Price, Matt Wates, Mark Nightingale, Henry Lowther, Abram Wilson, Chris Biscoe and Tony Woods. . For the Retro Chet Collective, Caroline brings back to life some of the great piano players who supported Chet Baker over four decades including Russ Freeman, Gerard Gustin, Hal Galper, Amadeo Tommasi, Romano Mussolini (the son of the infamous father), Bob James, Harold Danko and Paul Bley. Caroline also teaches music, dance and Pilates.
Paul Michael
Originally from London, Paul has been playing electric and upright bass since the age of 14 and Graduated from Trinity College of Music in 2009. He is a regular on the London jazz scene and has toured extensively through Europe.
He has performed at prestigious venues such as Ronnie Scotts with Julian Joseph, Vortex jazz club, Royal Albert Hall, many music festivals across Europe and many live sessions including BB6 music and Jazz F.M. He has also performed at the Royal Opera House featuring with world renowned dancer Carlos Acosta.
He is currently working with Byron Wallen in the ‘Four Corners’ project, Emily Saunders E.S.B Nick Walters Paradox ensemble and Lorraine Bakers ‘Eden’ with albums scheduled for release for each.
THE CONCERTS
Let’s Get Lost in Laurens Thursday May 31 2018
Our thanks to Wendy Ogg and the Jazz Club a Laurens for hosting a fabulous evening. We were delighted to be invited back (post lockdown) Thursday May 30th 2024 -see above for more details.
Thanks also to our guest compere Adrian Sheen
LET’S GET LOST AT THE EXCHANGE THEATRE, TWICKENHAM, THURSDAY JUNE 21 2019
A very special concert at this 300 seat theatre – our thanks to Stuart Hobday and his team for a memorable evening. Photography with thanks to Robin Narayan and Geoff Norris.
A big thank you to Matthew Ruddick for joining us for a super evening at the Spice of Life in Soho hosted as always by the irrepressible Paul Pace. The third edition of Matthew’s 828 page biography of Chet Baker, My Funny Valentine, is available from Matthew (and all good book shops) and draws on over 200 interviews with people who lived and/or worked with Chet.
Contact Matthew for more information mattruddick@mac.com
Some photos by our multi talented band photographer Robin Narayan at the Spice of Life, Soho (before they threw the grand piano away).
Our follow on gig at the Bull’s Head in Barnes with Alfie Carroll on guitar playing numbers from the Chet Baker guitar trio albums with Doug Raney and Philip Catherine.
Our other gig at the Bull’s Head with Tony Woods on saxophone as Paul Desmond (January 2020).
Comments from Concerts
Wonderful gig, really enjoyed it.
A very fun & rather special evening
Great playing
A treat to be there
The best £12.00 I have ever spent
A truly memorable night
Moves jazz up a place on the Music Premier League table, above Polka and Pan Pipes. Out of the relegation zone…. Euro-Vision not Europa League next target
Fabulous evening , loved the music, the venue, the repartee – a great time was had by all!
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1947-2021
Retro Chet 