These landmark 1950s Riverside albums have been issued, reissued, mastered and remastered, and packaged and repackaged countless times over the years, so why review them again? In short, because these Craft reissues are the best-sounding, most authentic versions of this trio currently available (at least, at a sensible price).

Originally released in 2020 (see Jazzwise 250) as part of The Legendary Riverside Albums, a five-LP box set that sold out in record time, Lerner & Loewe, It Could Happen and In New York have been liberated and are now available separately for £25 or less each (1959's Chet, perhaps the best of these Riverside albums, is also available but wasn't sent for review). Cut from the original analogue masters by the estimable Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on super-quiet, flat 180g vinyl, and complete with ‘slick back’ sleeves, Craft has produced superb-sounding vinyl to treasure.

The music you'll know: you'll either like it or you won't. Miles, Ornette, Mingus, Monk and Brubeck may all have been pushing the boundaries in 1958-59, while Baker was still playing standards and old show tunes, but this rich music (maybe too rich, depending on your tastes) has its place as an exemplar of a certain approach to jazz, and perhaps represents the peak of the trumpeter's career. For this reviewer, the Lerner & Loewe disc just wins out, by dint of its lush, hazy shimmer, the timelessness of the L&L melodies and the presence of Bill Evans and Herbie Mann; but you'll have your own favourite. In jazz, there has always been a fine line between laid-back cool and middle-of-the-road, a tightrope Baker walked – often precariously – throughout much of his career. Here, however, supported by stellar lineups (the In New York rhythm section of Paul Chambers and Philly Joe is spot on); Orrin Keepnews’ sympathetic production; and at a time before the junk ravaged Chet's looks, his horn playing and his voice, he keeps his poise perfectly. If you're a Baker buff, you'll need these.