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CHET BAKER， trumpet; JOHNNY GRIFFIN， tenor sax (on A1， A3 & B2 only); AL HAIG， piano; PAUL CHAMBERS， bass; PHILLY JOE JONES， drums.
New York， September 1958.

SIDE A:
1. FAIR WEATHER (Benny Golson-Kenny Dorham)
2. POLKA DOTS AND MOONBEAMS (Johnny Burke-Jimmy Van Heusen)
3. HOTEL 49 (Owen Marshall)
SIDE B:
1. SOLAR (Miles Davis)
2. BLUE THOUGHTS (Benny Golson)
3. WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW (Benny Carter-Spencer Williams)
4. SOFT WINDS (Benny Goodman-Fletcher Henderson) *
*Bonus track: from the same sessions but not included on the original LP.

Apart from his obvious connection with the West Coast， Baker was also highly influenced by the New York players. He included a number of Miles Davis tunes in his program during many of his 1955 concerts in Europe， and always declared that Miles was “his favorite trumpet player”. He had also been chosen by the great Charlie Parker to join his band for his 1952 California dates. The legendary saxophonist’s hiring of Baker showed that even Bird thought the young trumpeter’s style was compatible with his own (Parker was also fond of the playing of Dick Twardzik， who became the pianist in Baker’s Quartet until his untimely death in 1955). Bird’s group included pianist Al Haig， who is also the pianist on Chet Baker in New York. It must have been a strange reunion for Baker and Haig， for when they first met in 1952 the trumpeter was virtually unknown， while in 1958 he was a true star (discographies list Haig as Chet’s pianist for a two-tune appearance on the television program “The Tonight Show” in December 1954; however， as only the sound is preserved， we cannot confirm Haig’s presence).
Although Chet Baker has become best known for his highly lyrical and introspective style (with respect to both his singing and horn playing)， his sound could also be “forceful” in the style associated with East Coast jazz. By the time these recordings were made in September 1958， Chet Baker – who began recording in 1952 – had been a star for less than a decade. He first gained fame for his collaborations with Gerry Mulligan， and then with his own quartet featuring Russ Freeman and， for a short while， the aforementioned Dick Twardzik. The month prior to the recording of Chet Baker in New York， Baker had taped Chet Baker Sings: It Could Happen to You， which was also made in New York. Chet’s band on the latter album featured New York musicians like Kenny Drew， Sam Jones， Dannie Richmond and Philly Joe Jones (alternating on drums). Chet Baker in New York， included Philly Joe Jones again， plus Haig on piano， the great Paul Chambers on bass， and tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin added on three tracks. Of course， both Philly Joe Jones and Paul Chambers were long-time members of Miles Davis’ groups.