Duck Baker
Encyclopedia
Duck Baker is an accomplished and influential American
fingerstyle guitar
ist, who in his playing combines genres as varied as rag
s, blues
, country
, gospel
, cajun
, bluegrass
, Celtic music
, ballad
s and jazz
, swing
, New Orleans jazz
and free jazz
.
, Virginia
. As a teenager he played in rock and blues bands before becoming interested in acoustic blues. In the early seventies he moved to San Francisco, and was performing a wide range of material which can be heard on his first record on the Kicking Mule
label, There's Something for Everyone In America. In addition to developing his solo style, he immersed himself in the local swing jazz scene and avant-garde jazz/improv scene.
In the late seventies Baker released four more records for Kicking Mule, including two devoted to jazz and a solo guitar record of Irish and Scottish music. He also began touring as a solo artist throughout North America
, Western Europe
and Australia
. He eventually moved to Europe before returning to San Francisco in 1987. As of 2008, he resides in London, England.
Baker views himself as an exponent of the full tapestry of vernacular American music and of its tributary traditions, especially the Anglo-Irish strain. His collaborators in the 1990s and 2000s reflect the breadth of his interests, including the Irish fiddler, Kieran Fahy, and the traditional singer, Molly Andrews, trombonist Roswell Rudd
, bassist Mark Dresser
, guitarists Jamie Findlay, Woody Mann
and Ken Emerson
, fiddler Ben Paley and singer-flutist Maggie Boyle. His solo recordings since 1980 have largely focused on his own compositions, which reflect the influence of the great jazz pianists/composers as well as the breadth of his other interests.
Although he plays flat-top steel string guitar with some frequency, Baker is nearly unique among non-classical fingerstyle guitarists in emphasizing the nylon string guitar.
Baker also frequently writes reviews for a variety of jazz publications, and is the author of several instructional manuals for guitarists. He has recently become a columnist for the UK guitar magazine Acoustic.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fingerstyle guitar
Fingerstyle guitar
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking ....
ist, who in his playing combines genres as varied as rag
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
s, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, cajun
Cajun music
Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based, Cajun-influenced zydeco form, both of Acadiana origin...
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, Celtic music
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
, ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, swing
Swing (genre)
Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and became a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States...
, New Orleans jazz
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
and free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
.
Biography and career
Baker grew up in RichmondRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. As a teenager he played in rock and blues bands before becoming interested in acoustic blues. In the early seventies he moved to San Francisco, and was performing a wide range of material which can be heard on his first record on the Kicking Mule
Kicking Mule Records
Kicking Mule Records was an independent American record label founded in 1972 by Stefan Grossman and Eugene "ED" Denson. Denson was previously a co-owner of Takoma Records. The company's title comes from the country blues sexual two-timing allegory "there's another mule kicking in your stall"....
label, There's Something for Everyone In America. In addition to developing his solo style, he immersed himself in the local swing jazz scene and avant-garde jazz/improv scene.
In the late seventies Baker released four more records for Kicking Mule, including two devoted to jazz and a solo guitar record of Irish and Scottish music. He also began touring as a solo artist throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He eventually moved to Europe before returning to San Francisco in 1987. As of 2008, he resides in London, England.
Baker views himself as an exponent of the full tapestry of vernacular American music and of its tributary traditions, especially the Anglo-Irish strain. His collaborators in the 1990s and 2000s reflect the breadth of his interests, including the Irish fiddler, Kieran Fahy, and the traditional singer, Molly Andrews, trombonist Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd is a Grammy Award-nominated American jazz trombonist and composer....
, bassist Mark Dresser
Mark Dresser
Mark Dresser is an American double bass player and composer.-Biography:He has performed and recorded with many of the luminaries of "new" jazz composition and improvisation. For ten years he performed with the Anthony Braxton Quartet, as well as diverse groups led by Ray Anderson, Tim Berne,...
, guitarists Jamie Findlay, Woody Mann
Woody Mann
-Biography:Mann specializes in jazz, blues, and American roots music.He was born in New York, where he first studied acoustic guitar with ragtime and blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis from 1968-72. From 1973-78, Mann continued private lessons, focusing on improvisation with jazz pianist Lennie...
and Ken Emerson
Ken Emerson
Ken Emerson was an Australian cartoonist and comic strip creator. He is best known for writing the comic strips The WarrumbunglersThe Warrumbunglers title is sometimes written with a hyphen but this is most likely a stylistic decision to fit the long title within one panel of the comic strip. and...
, fiddler Ben Paley and singer-flutist Maggie Boyle. His solo recordings since 1980 have largely focused on his own compositions, which reflect the influence of the great jazz pianists/composers as well as the breadth of his other interests.
Although he plays flat-top steel string guitar with some frequency, Baker is nearly unique among non-classical fingerstyle guitarists in emphasizing the nylon string guitar.
Baker also frequently writes reviews for a variety of jazz publications, and is the author of several instructional manuals for guitarists. He has recently become a columnist for the UK guitar magazine Acoustic.
Solo or duo
- There's Something for Everyone in AmericaThere's Something for Everyone in AmericaThere's Something for Everyone in America is the debut album by American guitarist Duck Baker, released in 1975. It was reissued on CD by Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop label. The reissue includes an Acrobat pdf file of the music and tablature....
(Kicking Mule Records 1975) - When You Wore a Tulip (Kicking Mule Records 1977)
- The King of Bongo Bong (Kicking Mule Records 1977)
- The Art of Fingerstyle Jazz GuitarThe Art of Fingerstyle Jazz GuitarThere's Something for Everyone in America is an album by American guitarist Duck Baker, released in 1979. It was reissued in 1994 on the Shanachie Records label with six bonus tracks.-Reception:...
(Kicking Mule Records 1979) - The Kid on the Mountain (Kicking Mule Records 1980)
- Under Your Heart (Edition Collage Records 1985)
- You Can't Take the Country out of the Boy (Edition Collage Records 1986)
- Both Sides (Stefan GrossmanStefan GrossmanStefan Grossman is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer, music producer and educator, and co-founder of Kicking Mule records.-Early life and influences:Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Herbert and Ruth Grossman...
's Guitar Workshop 1987) - The Salutation (Fisher Productions 1988)
- Paul BunyanPaul BunyanPaul Bunyan is a lumberjack figure in North American folklore and tradition. One of the most famous and popular North American folklore heroes, he is usually described as a giant as well as a lumberjack of unusual skill, and is often accompanied in stories by his animal companion, Babe the Blue...
(with Leo KottkeLeo KottkeLeo Kottke is an acoustic guitarist. He is widely known for his innovative fingerpicking style, which draws on influences from blues, jazz, and folk music, and his syncopated, polyphonic melodies...
) (Windham Hill RecordsWindham Hill RecordsWindham Hill Records is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment specializing in Acoustic, New Age and Folk music. Originally founded in 1976 as an Independent record label by guitarist and carpenter William Ackerman and his then-wife Anne Robinson, Windham Hill was a successful and well-respected...
1990) - A Thousand Words (Acoustic Music Records 1992)
- American Traditional (with Molly Andrews) (Day Job Records 1993)
- Opening the Eyes of Love (Shanachie RecordsShanachie RecordsShanachie Records was founded in 1976 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. According to Harvey Pekar , it is one of the largest independent record labels in the world, and is currently distributed by E1 Music. Starting as a label that specialized in fiddle music, they began releasing work by Celtic...
1993) - The Art of Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar (Shanachie Records (re-issue) 1994)
- The Moving Business (with Molly Andrews) (Day Job Records 1994)
- The Clear Blue Sky (Acoustic Music Records 1995)
- Spinning Song (Avant Records 1996)
- The Complete Gospel Guitarist (Mel Bay PublicationsMel Bay PublicationsMel Bay was a musician best known for his series of music education books. His Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords remains a bestseller.-Childhood and early life:...
1997) - Northern Skies, Southern Blues (with Stefan GrossmanStefan GrossmanStefan Grossman is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer, music producer and educator, and co-founder of Kicking Mule records.-Early life and influences:Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Herbert and Ruth Grossman...
) (Shanachie Records 1997) - Ms. Right (Acoustic Music Records 1998)
- The Kid on the Mountain (Fantasy Records (re-issue) 1999)
- The Fairy Queen (with Kieran Fahy) (Day Job Records 1999)
- My Heart Belongs to Jenny (Day Job Records 2000)
- Out of the Past (with Jamie Findlay) (Day Job Records 2001)
- Duck Baker's Fingerstyle Blues Guitar 101 (CD w/ book) (Mel Bay Publications 2004)
- The Salutation (re-issue) 2006
- Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans (Kokomo Music 2006)
Anthologies
- Masters of Ragtime Guitar (Kicking Mule Records 1977)
- Advanced Fingerpicking Guitar Techniques (Kicking Mule Records 1978)
- Contemporary Guitar Workshop (Kicking Mule Records 1978)
- Irish Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes and Airs (Kicking Mule Records 1979)
- Blues Guitar Workshop (Kicking Mule Records 1979)
- Northwestern Folklife Festival (Voyager Records 1979)
- Second Lizard Convention (Lizard Records 1983)
- Music of O'Carolan (Shanachie Records 1986)
- Music of Ireland (Shanachie Records 1988)
- Irish Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes and Airs (tracks from The Kid on the Mountain and Irish Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes and Airs on Kicking Mule) (Shanachie Records (re-issue) 1993)
- The Entertainer: Music of Scott JoplinScott JoplinScott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
for Fingerstyle Guitar (tracks from various Kicking Mule records) (Shanachie Records (re-issue) 1993) - Fingerpicking Delights (tracks from various Kicking Mule records) (Shanachie Records (re-issue) 1994)
- Acoustic Routes (Demon Records 1993)
- Ramble to Cashel, Celtic Fingerstyle Guitar, Vol. 1 (Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
1998) - The Blarney Pilgrim, Celtic Fingerstyle Guitar, Vol. 2 (Rounder Records 1998)
- Studio For Experimental Art Sampler Vol. One (Studio For 1998)
- 156 Strings (Cuneiform 2002)
- Acoustic Guitar Highlights Vol.1 (Acoustic Music Records))
External links
- Duck Baker's website
- [ Biography at www.allmusic.com]
- Author Information 'Duck Baker' at Mel Bay Publications
- Duck Baker: Folk ist Jazz ist Folk (German)
- http://www.hjs-jazz.de/duckbaker.html