Jon Baker (producer)
Encyclopedia
Jon Baker is a music industry executive. He has worked as a fashion designer, promoter, and is currently co-owner of Geejam, a luxury resort and recording studio located in San San, near Port Antonio, Jamaica.
He went to the Chelsea School of Art in 1977 where he was introduced to the punk scene. In 1978, Baker opened ‘’Blooz,’’ a shop in Kensington Market that specialized in punk rock and new wave style t-shirts. By the end of that year, Baker had become part of the burgeoning post-punk new romantic
movement, influenced by Chris Sullivan
, Boy George
, Sade
and Spandau Ballet
and based largely around the Blitz Club
. In 1978, Baker opened a fashion store called Axiom in the Great Gear Market on King’s Road in London and was a stylist for many New Romantic
bands like Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran
). In 1980 Baker traveled to New York to stage a fashion show by Axiom designers coupled with a performance by Spandau Ballet at the Underground Club on Union Square Park.
, an important early hip hop club in the Bronx. The two started a popular hip hop night at NYC’s Club Negril. When Negril proved too small a venue, the two promoted an important and very popular Friday night hip hop party at The Roxy
. During this era, Baker also ran Jon Baker Productions, a small booking agency that brought well known club nights from London and Berlin to New York’s Danceteria
, and British design collectives to New York and produced fashion shows for nightclubs like Danceteria, the Roxy, the Peppermint Lounge
, and The Ritz
.
and Slick Rick’s
first UK tour. That year he met Rob Birch and Nick Hallam of the Stereo MCs
and together, they began to produce and distribute white label records to London dance shops. He also met future wife Ziggi Golding, an agent who ran the progressive “Z” modeling agency, with whom he established Gee Street Records
. Among the artists Gee Street signed and/or promoted were Jon King
/King Butcher, Funtopia, Gail Ann Dorsey
, Queen Latifah
, The Jungle Brothers, The Stereo MCs and PM Dawn.
Gee Street’s first major success was the release of Straight Out of the Jungle by the Jungle Brothers; its single “I’ll House You” went top 5 in the UK national charts. Then, in 1988, he signed the Stereo MCs to a licensing deal with Island Records. In 1989, he brought PM Dawn to England to record. By 1991, PM Dawn’s demo had incredible underground buzz and garnered interest from all the major record labels.
signed PM Dawn, and proposed a joint venture with Island/Polygram that secured Gee Street’s roster for Island. Back in the US, Baker became a senior A&R man on the Island records team and head of Blackwell’s newly-formed Island Jamaica label for North America, which included Luciano
, Chaka Demus and Pliars
and Beenie Man
among others. In 1996, Blackwell left Island and the Polygram group. With this, Baker bought Gee Street and resold 75% of it to Richard Branson
. In the deal, Baker retained control of Gee Street’s marketing, promotion and A&R, while Branson made Gee Street the cornerstone of V2 Records
in North America and named Baker co-President.
In 2004, Baker produced Two Culture Clash in collaboration with producer Mark Jones in the UK. In 2004 and again in 2005, he became a consultant for New Reality TV’s Digicel Rising Star talent competition on Jamaica’s TVJ television station in 2004.,
In 2006, Baker worked with Steve Beaver of the Hong Kong-based Beaver Music on the Singerz Collection album series through Universal Japan; it featured contemporary songs interpreted in a reggae style. Later that year, however, Baker and Beaver went into a more formal partnership and agreed to develop Geejam into a luxury private hotel. To this point, Baker had devoted a great deal of his energy to make Geejam an exclusive residential recording studio. The studio’s resources had earned a strong reputation among industry insiders and attracted several top artists including Gorillaz
, No Doubt
, India.Arie
, Dru Hill
, Godwana, Les Nubians
, Wyclef Jean
and Björk
.
Geejam opened to the general public in 2008 and is part of the Island Outpost brand. Since 2008, Geejam has been rated Jamaica’s number one hotel by travel review website TripAdvisor.com in March 2010. Over this time, Drake
, Santigold, Major Lazer
and Amy Winehouse
have all worked on recording projects there.
The Geejam Group’s most recent project involved the Jamaican mento
band The Jolly Boys
. Their album Great Expectation was released in the UK on September 13 and was received well by critics in Europe.
Early Life
Baker was born in 1960. His father was a specialist car dealer and his mother the head designer at British ready-to-wear fashion firm Susan Small, and designed dresses for Princess Anne (including her wedding dress) and other notables.He went to the Chelsea School of Art in 1977 where he was introduced to the punk scene. In 1978, Baker opened ‘’Blooz,’’ a shop in Kensington Market that specialized in punk rock and new wave style t-shirts. By the end of that year, Baker had become part of the burgeoning post-punk new romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
movement, influenced by Chris Sullivan
Blue Rondo à la Turk (band)
Blue Rondo à la Turk was an early 1980s British pop group, which featured Chris Sullivan on vocals and Mark Reilly on guitar. Other band members were Moses Mount Bassie , Mick "Lloyd" Bynoe , Art Collins , Geraldo d'Arbilly , Kito Poncioni , Christos Tolera , Tholo Peter Tsegona , and Daniel White...
, Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
, Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
and Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
and based largely around the Blitz Club
Blitz Kids
The Blitz Kids were a group of young people who frequented the Blitz nightclub in Covent Garden, London in the very early 1980s, and are credited with launching the New Romantic cultural movement...
. In 1978, Baker opened a fashion store called Axiom in the Great Gear Market on King’s Road in London and was a stylist for many New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
bands like Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
). In 1980 Baker traveled to New York to stage a fashion show by Axiom designers coupled with a performance by Spandau Ballet at the Underground Club on Union Square Park.
NYC, 1980-1984
In the early 1980s Baker moved to New York and worked with Ruza Blue, a British expat and music promoter, who brought him to Disco FeverDisco Fever
Disco Fever was a New York City dance club located in the South Bronx. Owner Ally Abbatiello opened it in 1976 as an adult disco. In the summer of 1977, Ally's son Sal convinced him to hand over the reins...
, an important early hip hop club in the Bronx. The two started a popular hip hop night at NYC’s Club Negril. When Negril proved too small a venue, the two promoted an important and very popular Friday night hip hop party at The Roxy
Roxy NYC
Roxy NYC was a popular nightclub located at 515 West 18th Street in New York City. Located in Chelsea section of Manhattan it began as a roller skating rink and roller disco in 1978, it was founded by Steve Bauman, Richard Newhouse and Steve Greenberg then acquired in 1985 by Gene DiNino until it...
. During this era, Baker also ran Jon Baker Productions, a small booking agency that brought well known club nights from London and Berlin to New York’s Danceteria
Danceteria
Danceteria was a well-known four-floor nightclub located in New York City which operated from 1980 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. Throughout its history, the club had seven different locations, three in NYC and four in the Hamptons...
, and British design collectives to New York and produced fashion shows for nightclubs like Danceteria, the Roxy, the Peppermint Lounge
Peppermint Lounge
The Peppermint Lounge was a popular discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in New York City that was open from 1958 to 1965. It was the launchpad for the global Twist craze in the early 1960s, and also where Go-Go dancing originated....
, and The Ritz
Ritz (rock club)
-History:The Ritz was founded in 1980 by Jerry Brandt on 11th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of New York City. Formerly a ballroom known as Webster Hall, The Ritz still retained some of its previous incarnation's Art Deco style. As a venue, it focused...
.
Gee Street Records, 1985-1990
Baker’s returned to London in 1984. In 1985, Baker organized Doug E. FreshDoug E. Fresh
Douglas E. Davis , better known by the stage name Doug E. Fresh, is an American rapper, record producer, and beat boxer, also known as the Human Beat Box...
and Slick Rick’s
Slick Rick
Richard Walters , better known by his stage name Slick Rick is a Grammy-nominated English-American rapper...
first UK tour. That year he met Rob Birch and Nick Hallam of the Stereo MCs
Stereo MCs
Stereo MCs are an English electronic dance group, which formed in Clapham, London in 1985. They are best known worldwide for their 1992 transatlantic Top 20 hit single, "Connected"...
and together, they began to produce and distribute white label records to London dance shops. He also met future wife Ziggi Golding, an agent who ran the progressive “Z” modeling agency, with whom he established Gee Street Records
Gee Street Records
Gee Street Records was a British hip hop record label started by Jon Baker in 1985. The label's name came from its original location, a converted warehouse on Gee Street in London....
. Among the artists Gee Street signed and/or promoted were Jon King
Jon King (musician)
Jon King, born 8 June 1955, London, is a singer, musician and founding member of the Leeds based UK rock band Gang of Four. He attended Sevenoaks School, where he was a member of the 'Art Room' that produced musicians Tom Greenhalgh and Mark White of The Mekons, along with Andy Gill of Gang of...
/King Butcher, Funtopia, Gail Ann Dorsey
Gail Ann Dorsey
Gail Ann Dorsey is an American musician considered one of the premier bass guitarists and vocalists within the alternative rock scene. With a distinguished career as a session musician, it has been most notably her long association performing in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to the present day,...
, Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
, The Jungle Brothers, The Stereo MCs and PM Dawn.
Gee Street’s first major success was the release of Straight Out of the Jungle by the Jungle Brothers; its single “I’ll House You” went top 5 in the UK national charts. Then, in 1988, he signed the Stereo MCs to a licensing deal with Island Records. In 1989, he brought PM Dawn to England to record. By 1991, PM Dawn’s demo had incredible underground buzz and garnered interest from all the major record labels.
Island Records 1991–1997 / V2 1997–2000
In 1990, Chris BlackwellChris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
signed PM Dawn, and proposed a joint venture with Island/Polygram that secured Gee Street’s roster for Island. Back in the US, Baker became a senior A&R man on the Island records team and head of Blackwell’s newly-formed Island Jamaica label for North America, which included Luciano
Luciano (singer)
Luciano is a Jamaican second generation roots reggae artist and poet....
, Chaka Demus and Pliars
Chaka Demus
John Taylor , better known as Chaka Demus, is a jamaican reggae musician and DJ.-Biography:Taylor was a regular attendee at Kingston dances and was given a chance by Prince Jammy to deejay on his sound system...
and Beenie Man
Beenie Man
Anthony Moses Davis , better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Grammy award winning Jamaican reggae artist. He is the self-proclaimed "King of the Dancehall".-Biography:...
among others. In 1996, Blackwell left Island and the Polygram group. With this, Baker bought Gee Street and resold 75% of it to Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
. In the deal, Baker retained control of Gee Street’s marketing, promotion and A&R, while Branson made Gee Street the cornerstone of V2 Records
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
in North America and named Baker co-President.
Geejam, 2000s
Baker sold his shares of Gee Street to Richard Branson in 2000. In 2002 he moved to Jamaica, became a Jamaican citizen. That year, he also produced the album Adelante, featuring Kymani Marley, Alberto D’Ascola (aka Alborosie)In 2004, Baker produced Two Culture Clash in collaboration with producer Mark Jones in the UK. In 2004 and again in 2005, he became a consultant for New Reality TV’s Digicel Rising Star talent competition on Jamaica’s TVJ television station in 2004.,
In 2006, Baker worked with Steve Beaver of the Hong Kong-based Beaver Music on the Singerz Collection album series through Universal Japan; it featured contemporary songs interpreted in a reggae style. Later that year, however, Baker and Beaver went into a more formal partnership and agreed to develop Geejam into a luxury private hotel. To this point, Baker had devoted a great deal of his energy to make Geejam an exclusive residential recording studio. The studio’s resources had earned a strong reputation among industry insiders and attracted several top artists including Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
, No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
, India.Arie
India.Arie
India.Arie is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and record producer . She has sold over 3.3 million records in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards from her 21 nominations, including Best R&B Album.-Background:Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado...
, Dru Hill
Dru Hill
Dru Hill is an American singing group, most popular during the late 1990s, whose repertoire included R&B, soul, and gospel music. Founded in Baltimore, Maryland, and active since 1992, Dru Hill recorded seven Top 40 hits, and is best known for the R&B #1 hits "In My Bed", "Never Make a Promise", ...
, Godwana, Les Nubians
Les Nubians
Les Nubians is an R&B Grammy-nominated duo composed of sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart from Paris, France. In 1985 the sisters moved with their parents to Chad. Seven years later, they returned to Bordeaux, France, and began singing a cappella, producing poetry slams in Bordeaux and Paris, and...
, Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
and Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
.
Geejam opened to the general public in 2008 and is part of the Island Outpost brand. Since 2008, Geejam has been rated Jamaica’s number one hotel by travel review website TripAdvisor.com in March 2010. Over this time, Drake
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
, Santigold, Major Lazer
Major Lazer
Major Lazer is a collaborative musical project from DJ/Producers Diplo and Switch.-Background:Made up of DJs Diplo and Switch, the two were introduced after working with M.I.A.. The duo's first album Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do was released on June 16, 2009, on Downtown Records. It was...
and Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
have all worked on recording projects there.
The Geejam Group’s most recent project involved the Jamaican mento
Mento
Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. It has its roots in calypso and other Jamaican folk music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the...
band The Jolly Boys
The Jolly Boys
The Jolly Boys is a mento band from Port Antonio, Jamaica. It was formed in 1955 and had great commercial success in the late 1980s and 1990s among reggae and world music fans...
. Their album Great Expectation was released in the UK on September 13 and was received well by critics in Europe.