James Dean, in some circles, was the epitome of cool. His "live fast die young" rebelliousness was tangible to a generation coming of age, and remains so. Like Dean, trumpeter Chet Baker was also symbolic of cool. It made sense that the bittersweet trumpet of Baker would play a major role in the music to the documentary film {#The James Dean Story} in 1956. What, unfortunately, makes this soundtrack less than attractive is the Hollywood-induced charts that tend to waste the quality of these musicians. It would be impossible to assemble jazz players including Pepper Adams, Bud Shank, Charlie Mariano, and Baker and not produce something worthwhile. However, composer Leith Stevens and arrangers Johnny Mandel and Bill Holman missed the mark by scoring much of this as background music. While Bud Shank manages to sneak in a few Bird-style licks, the stereotypical "Hollywood hipster" bongos of Mike Pacheco are prominent. "Let Me Be Loved" is the lone Baker vocal on this set, reissued in 2000. [The Japanese edition offers the same back cover artwork as the original LP, including a fascinating description of the creative process behind the album.] ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide