David Nathaniel Baker Jr. (born December 21, 1931 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a leading symphonic jazz composer at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington.
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, David Baker attended Crispus Attucks High School. He was educated at Indiana University, receiving both his Undergraduate and Masters in Music Education from that institution.
He thrived in the Indianapolis jazz scene of the time, serving a...
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David Nathaniel Baker Jr. (born December 21, 1931 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a leading symphonic jazz composer at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington.
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, David Baker attended Crispus Attucks High School. He was educated at Indiana University, receiving both his Undergraduate and Masters in Music Education from that institution.
He thrived in the Indianapolis jazz scene of the time, serving as a mentor of sorts to Indianapolis-born trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. Originally a talented trombonist, he was forced to abandon that instrument after a jaw injury left him unable to play (although he played brilliantly on the George Russell Sextet album Ezz-thetics after sustaining the injury) .
Following the injury, he learned to play cello, a rare instrument in the jazz world. This shift to cello largely ended his career as a performer and marked a period of increased interest in composition and pedagogy. Among the first and most important...
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