I've never been much of a jazz fan, though I'm getting into the music lately. Chet Baker would not have been on my radar during the time frame in which this story took place, coinciding as it did with the British Invasion of the mid-Sixties which is where my head was at as a young teenager. In some respects, the life of Chet Baker appeared to parallel that of another jazz great, John Coltrane, as related in the 2016 biopic "Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary". Both men were snubbed by Miles Davis when drugs, particularly heroin invaded their lives. In Baker's case, the drugs also got him in big time trouble with his dealers, who took out their revenge by busting up his mouth and teeth. Ethan Hawke portrays a humbled and pensive Chet Baker, attempting a comeback with the help of girlfriend Jane Azuka (Carmen Ejogo), who sticks by her man through the ordeal that marked his resurgence as a musician. Baker's insecurity is front and center when Jane gets the opportunity to break into film, and they must part ways for a brief period. The story lines breaks kind of abruptly right after Baker's New York City one-night stand performance before luminaries Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and some of his personal backers in the industry. Not ever having experienced the real Chet Baker's music, the film inspires me to check out some of his work in the genre, though based on Hawke's performance, I'm inclined to believe that he was a better trumpet player than singer.
Review of Born to Be Blue
