In a Tribute to Chet Baker, Hersh Hamel Keeps It Subtle

When Hersh Hamel takes the bandstand at Steamers in Fullerton tonight to pay tribute to the late Chet Baker, he’ll bring insights that few people share.

Hamel was Baker’s first regular bassist in Los Angeles, beginning when Baker got out of the service around 1950.

“I first met him on a Sunday afternoon at a little place a couple doors down from the Lighthouse [in Hermosa Beach], before the Lighthouse had anything happening,” Hamel recalls. “Chet was playing French horn and trumpet, and I sat in. Afterward he said, ‘Hey, man, I want to get together and play. Call me.’ ”

Soon they had been joined by saxophonists Art Pepper and Jack Montrose and trumpeter Jack Sheldon for gigs at a Mexican restaurant in Hermosa Beach called Esther’s. Pepper took them to East L.A., where they played the Samoan Club with the likes of saxophonist Bill Perkins and trumpeter-composer Shorty Rogers. According to Hamel, that was the true start of the West Coast jazz sound.

“We were playing that sound long before Shorty started writing that way. With [drummer] Bob Neel playing the brushes and Chet singing and playing standards in that quiet way. . . . It was the key to the West Coast sound. Chet was very ahead of his time.”

Hamel brings that same feel to the bandstand these days with his Baker tribute. But he does it without a trumpet.

“It’s almost impossible to find a trumpeter today who plays in Chet’s bag,” he explains.

So Hamel has arranged many of the tunes associated with Baker--”But Not for Me,” “Let’s Get Lost,” “Imagination”--for bass, guitar, drums and voice.

“I’ve taken Chet’s solos off the 1950s recordings and sing the melodies. We do the string parts from the Johnny Mandel arrangements on bass and guitar, and then I’ll add my voice.

“It makes for a very subtle but interesting performance. Some people want robust, bashing jazz. They might be disappointed. What we do is very reminiscent of the subtle things that Chet did.”

* Hersh Hamel, guitarist Steve Cotter and drummer Billy Mintz play a tribute to Chet Baker tonight at 8 at Steamers, 138 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton. No cover. (714) 871-8800.