Chet Baker Essay

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The 1950’s were full of music, whether it was classical or jazz. Chet Baker a well-known jazz trumpeter grew up in Los Angeles, California. Baker became renowned in the jazz scene, but ultimately let his drug abuse overtake him. Coincidentally, Herb Alpert, a famous classical trumpeter also grew up in Los Angeles around the same time as Chet Baker. Alpert may have had a similar upbringing, but he turned out to be completely different from Baker. Alpert was a philanthropic man and was respected by countless people. So what made these two musicians who grew up in similar conditions end up so oppositely? Their childhoods, success, and also the genre of music they played may have contributed to their differences.
Chet Baker grew up in Los Angeles with his family around the age of 10. His parents were musically inclined, and Baker began playing trumpet at age 13. Around the age of 16, Baker dropped out of school to join the army. He played in bands during his time with the armed forces. Herb Alpert also grew up in Los Angeles with his family. Growing up in a family of musicians, Alpert soon followed. Alpert started playing trumpet at 8 …show more content…

They produced the hits “Baby Talk” for Jan and Dean in 1959 and “Wonderful World” by Sam Cooke in 1960. The trumpeter and songwriter then joined Jerry Moss to form A&M Records, and this is where he gained his highest success. Not only was Alpert an executive for the record company but also a Grammy Award-Winning band member of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. The band sold millions of albums, and even surpassed the Beatles’ record sales in 1966. In 1969 The band was no longer, but A&M Records continued to excel thanks to artists Joe Cocker, Cat Stevens, the Carpenters and Peter Frampton (Ankeny). Alpert turned his success into something even larger, a multimillion dollar record company. He made the right the decisions in his life and it paid off for him in the

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