Grippingly written and meticulously researched, Matthew Ruddick's 828-page opus is the definitive biography of trumpeter and singer Chet Baker. More than that, it is a vivid account of the junkie ...

Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince ...

If trumpeter Chet Baker had died in 1955, in his mid-20s, he would be remembered as a golden boy cut down in his prime, a player of much promise, unfulfilled. Musically, he would be pegged as an adept ...

Most biopics of musicians try to cover too much ground, telling artists’ stories from birth to death while focusing more on their weaknesses than their work. In “Born to Be Blue,” writer-director ...

In 1952, a 21-year-old trumpeter from Oklahoma named Chet Baker established himself as one the few real superstars of contemporary jazz by both playing and singing with an unmistakable lyricism and at ...

The long-standing problem plaguing biopics can be best encapsulated by a single question: How do you tell someone’s life story, which likely spans decades, within 120 minutes? To omit vital events in ...