Probably my favorite Jazz musician, because no one is more economical, no one is more sentimentally involved in the song, no one is more humble with his instrument because Chet forgot always himself in the music he play...We even forgot that this is a trumpet, subsist only a passing cloud in front of a stay forever sun, like a pure melody appearing in front of the heart....
He is the greatest trumpet player, not because of what he do or could do with the trumpet , but because of what he dont do ever and never will do...He most of the times slowly articulated each part of a melody like spoken words...
Playing slowly the trumpet notes like he did and making each one of them expressive in his own way is very difficult...More difficult than playing virtuoso and speed with high notes...
I am not a trumpet player... You could ask me how can i know what is the more difficult way to play at the trumpet?
I will answer easily... Look for any trumpeter and compare him with Chet...No one is able to slowly "spoke" with the trumpet at the expressive mastery level of Chet... Go now and look for virtuosos who play full speed ... There is plenty of them and i like them all because i like trumpet... But i love Chet...
There is some few others i love, but they have all their own "aural spectral expressive sound ", because i like that, none "spoke" with the trumpet though...
Music comes from the heart and nothing can destroy the heart, nor the drugs, nor the lost of his teeth...He learn to play anew at the same level... No other trumpetist will ever be able to do that i think...He played for the music ONLY never for the drug he need and pay for....For sure he was gravely ill all his life by drug ....But miraculously music never disapeared in meaningless concerts to pay for drug...I own more than one hundred of his best albums then i know him....
He was a withered and consumed angel....
For the same reason i love Bill Evans... They are twins...
Chet - the first 3 minutes are sublime.