Description
Book SynopsisThis first major biography of the most romanticized icon in jazz thrillingly recounts his wild ride. From his emergence in the 1950s--when an uncannily beautiful young man from Oklahoma appeared on the West Coast to become, seemingly overnight, the prince of "cool" jazz--until his violent, drug-related death in Amsterdam in 1988, Chet Baker lived a life that has become an American myth. Here, drawing on hundreds of interviews and previously untapped sources, James Gavin gives a hair-raising account of the trumpeter's dark journey.
Trade Review"A landmark in entertainment biography." -- Tony Gieske , Hollywood Reporter
"Definitive ... a haunting prose poem that's every bit as affecting as one of Baker's solos." -- Entertainment Weekly - "A" rating
"Superb ... unerring ... a stark, troubling portrait of both the artist and his times." -- Publisher's Weekly
"Splendid, fascinatingly thorough ... a book that remains a page-turner long after it's obvious what's coming next." -- K. Leander Williams , Time Out New York
"So thorough, gripping and well-written that once the pages start to turn, you're hooked ... a journalistic gem." -- Jason Koransky , Down Beat
"Savagely honest ... impeccably researched, elegantly written." -- Joel Selvin , San Francisco Chronicle
"Harrowing ... chilling." -- Richard Sudhalter , Baltimore Sun
"Cringingly fine ... a really scary story." -- Kirkus Reviews
