Köln Concert Featuring Dick Twardzik

AMG Review of Köln Concert Featuring Dick Twardzik

Jason Ankeny
All Music Guide

Unreleased for half a century -- and worth the wait. Documenting a complete West German live appearance from October 9, 1955 (including an announcement from promoter Gigi Campi and some impromptu dialogue from Chet Baker himself), The Köln Concert Featuring Dick Twardzik captures a harder, more soulful dimension of the trumpeter's work absent from his concurrent studio dates. There's real heat simmering below Baker's icy-cool tones, and he invests familiar compositions like "Imagination" and "I'll Remember April" with new verve. No less notable is his support staff, featuring pianist Richard Twardzik in one of his final performances before his fatal heroin overdose just 12 days later. His contributions here are shapely and supple, each note a poignant reminder of the immense talent he squandered away.