Chet Baker. The man with the velvet voice. He played the trumpet as he sang and he sang as he played the trumpet. If you want to pay tribute to this greatness, you have to be able to do something yourself. Eliane Elias is successful as a pianist and singer. And rightly so, because the piano playing of the Brazilian beauty is undeniably sublime. Opinions are divided about her voice. The most important
… thing in a tribute to Chet Baker is feeling. Unfortunately that is missing in Elias' voice. Her singing is far too flat for an ode to the master of emotion. The arrangements, on the other hand, are tastefully conceived and executed. Lots of piano, of course, nice running bass lines and fine guitar parts. The (almost) lack of a trumpet is a daring choice on a Tribute to Chet Baker, but it actually works out very well. All in all quite a nice CD, but it feels a bit like the first part of a series. For example, we will have to guess about Elias' performance of the ultimate Chet Baker song My Funny Valentine, because unfortunately it is not on this CD. (HF)more
