Yes, Bruce Weber is an icon. Be it still pictures or ones moving on film, Weber's one of the few remaining of his era--one where lenses crossed genres--almost seemlessly.
Be it his early pictorial work in GQ and for Andy Warhol's Interview magazine, or more infamous fare like the video for the Pet Shop Boys' "Being Boring," Weber's unique sense of frame is foreground for every subject he shoots.
Case in point: His Oscar-nominated documentary about jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, Let's Get Lost.
With a title borrowed from the song by Jimmy McHugh and Frank Loesser in the 1943 film Happy Go Lucky (which Baker recorded for Pacific Records), Weber's doc remains the best, most revered look at the singing trumpeter's late era.
And now, all its moody, black and white glory has finally come to DVD.
Classicalite: You've said you went in search of Chet Baker the cult figure, only to come back with a film that "lays bare the hollowness of the mystique." How was Chet Baker the man different from Chet Baker the legend?
Bruce Weber: Most people didn't know the real Chet Baker. I mean, a lot of people did. Anyone that met him knew of his talent. And, of course, his kindness. He could be a very gentle man. But there was a darkness in Chet. And many people saw that in him, too. He definitely had two sides: light and dark.
C: How did Baker's drug habit affect his music?
BW: Well, Chet Baker was an addict. And as he got more and more involved with his addictions--as they took him over--it was a real shame to watch. He's a tragic figure, in a way. Yeah, you can hear it, on record, with his later material.
C: Did Baker ever try to kick the habit? Did he want to?
BW: I remember one of the first times Chet got arrested. I don't know if he was trying to quit drugs then. But there were so many people there to bail him out of jail, the station didn't have enough room. That's just how much Chet meant to some people. It was almost this boundless devotion. We all tried to help him.
C: In the 25 years since you made Let's Get Lost, how have perceptions of Baker and his music changed?
BW: Chet gets cited now as some sort of arbiter of coolness. And make no mistake--Chet was cool. His music was so heartfelt, so genuine that I fear people might not hear that anymore. He's been gone since 1998. The jazz world has changed a lot since we made this film. But Chet's style is timeless.
C: Ultimately, what do you want people to take away from the DVD experience of re-watching Let's Get Lost?
BW: I guess what I want people to know is that Chet Baker was a complex person. He had two sides--this light one, this dark one--but, actually, it's a lot more complicated than that. It wasn't just the trumpet, and it wasn't just his voice, either. There's a whole grey area that exists for Chet, in jazz and in life. And I think we captured a little bit of that with Let's Get Lost.
"Let's Get Lost" - TRAILER from Bruce Weber on Vimeo.
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