Larry Baskett

Larry Baskett always makes it clear in his playing and sincere vocalizing that his main influence and inspiration is Chet Baker. Born in Colorado, Baskett moved with his family to Kansas when he was two, and they settled in northern California when he was six. He was attracted to bop as a youth and in 1953 had the opportunity to see Chet Baker play with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet. During the '50s, Baskett gigged in the San Francisco Bay area, often playing duets with bassist Ron Crotty. He dropped out of music entirely during the 1962-84 period. Making a complete comeback in the mid-'80s, Baskett let his idol Baker sit in with his group a few times. In 1993, while playing at an international jazz festival in the Ukraine with Crotty, Baskett sang in public for the first time. He recorded a trio set (Chalice) in 1995 with guitarist Randy Vincent and bassist Chris Amberger for his own Tehc label. That date was later sold to and reissued by A Records; Baskett has since cut a second set for the A label, a quintet outing entitled Poor Boy Blue.