David Baker won plaudits for his work as a writer, player, and teacher. He also played two instruments. Baker was a member of several large bands including Lionel Hampton’s while he was completing his doctorate at Indiana University. Baker also played in the West Coast orchestras of Stan Kenton in 1956 and Maynard Ferguson 1957. He then led his own band in Indianapolis from 1958-1959. Finally, he joined George Russell’s experimental combos and appeared on many landmark Russell albums, including 1960’s Stratusphunk and 1961’s Ezz Thetics and 1962’s The Stratus Seekers. Baker was once considered a rising star on trombone. However, he suffered an injury in 1953 that led him to change to cello in 1962. He played Eastern Man Alone on the Charles Tyler recording in 1967. Baker returned to the trombone in the 1970s and played on the 1972 album Living Time, with Bill Evans and George Russell conducting. Baker is best remembered for his contributions to the trombone and cello, but he was also an influential composer and writer who wrote many textbooks and analyses of jazz works. The 1973 Pulitzer Prize nomination was for his piece “Levels”, a concerto for solo and jazz band, woodwinds, strings, and piano. He was the head of Indiana University’s jazz department, and served on numerous national commissions and panels on jazz. Baker was once president of the National Jazz Service Organization. Baker died at the age 84 in March 2016.
