Newman Taylor Baker

Last updated
Newman Taylor Baker
Born (1943-02-04) February 4, 1943 (age 81)
Petersburg, Virginia, United States
Genres African American music, Jazz, Black string band, Free improvisation, Blue grass
Occupation(s) Washboardist, Drummer, Teaching artist, Vocalist, Composer
Instrument(s) Washboard, Drum set, Percussion, Voice
Years active1960s–present

Newman Taylor Baker [1] (born February 4, 1943) is a jazz drummer and a washboard player.

Contents

Early life

Newman Taylor Baker's paternal grandfather, Thomas Nelson Baker Sr., [2] was the only former slave to receive a PhD from Yale University (1906). His father (chemistry) and siblings graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory. Edith Baker (voice and piano), Ruth B. Baker (voice and piano), and Harry B. Baker (piano and organ), his aunts and uncle, were graduates of Oberlin Conservatory of Music. His maternal grandfather, Reverend Newman D. Taylor, known as the "Roland Hayes" of Mississippi, gave vocal recitals throughout the state and his uncle, Newman C. Taylor, accompanied him on piano. His aunt, India Taylor Johnson (a classmate of Dr. Billy Taylor at Virginia State University), was a vocal music and piano teacher in the Norfolk, VA public school system.

His parents were Ruth Taylor Baker, born Yazoo City, Mississippi, and Dr. T. Nelson Baker, Jr., born Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Newman's mother was an associate professor of English, and his father was head of the chemistry department. He sang bass in the a cappella choir and played oboe in the concert band and the symphony orchestra. His parents played four-hand transcriptions of Brahms and Beethoven symphonies at home. They lived on the campus in faculty housing. Newman's brother, Dr. T. Nelson Baker, III, was Newman's source for recordings of Max Roach and Clifford Brown, Horace Silver, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, Ella Fitzgerald, Art Blakey, and many others.

Newman Taylor Baker received his first drum the Christmas before he turned three; soon he was playing at home with jazz and classical recordings. Growing up on the campus of Virginia State University, he attended performances of leading international artists and orchestras. He was mentored by members of the music faculty. He began formal study of drums at five years as a member of the children's band for the campus elementary school and played in the university concert band from fourth-seventh grade. He was the youngest member of both bands.

As a child, and later as a college student, Baker studied with Virginia State University music faculty members including Dr. F. Nathaniel Gatlin, Dr. Undine S. Moore, and Dr. Thomas C. Bridge. Baker is a graduate of Kent School in 1961 and earned a Bachelor of Science with a major in education from Virginia State University. He went on to study with Fred Begun, solo timpanist National Symphony Orchestra Washington, D.C., and Harold Jones, School of Music East Carolina University at Greenville, North Carolina, where he completed a Master of Music in Education. Settling in New York City, he studied with Saul Goodman, solo timpanist New York Philharmonic Repertoire Institute, and Billy Hart. [1]

Career


WashboardXT

In 2010, Baker met the washboard working with the Ebony Hillbillies and it changed his life, resulting in Washboard XT and his current pursuit of washboard music for the 21st century. He defines Washboard XT as the combination of the musical and artistic knowledge, skills and creativity accumulated over his 50-year career and the washboard, an instrument embedded with the 19th-century history and culture of his U.S. African heritage. Personally significant for him because his paternal grandfather, Rev. Dr. T. Nelson Baker (1860–1941), the first U.S. African to receive a Ph.D. in philosophy (Yale University, 1903), lived during the heyday of the washboard, a 19th-century tool of drudgery transformed into a musical instrument of pleasure and relief.

Baker extends the washboard language by using expended shotgun shells (a tradition of Southeastern U.S.) on four fingers of each hand, customizing the physical instrument and adding microphones, effects pedals, and amplifiers. This produces a unique sound with more presence, variety, and responsiveness than the traditional thimbles, spoons, or knife handles. Approaching the washboard as a hand drum, touch is central to Newman's performance. He creates a great variety in texture, color, and articulation through the angle of the shells where they make contact, the weight of the arm when contact is made and the number of fingers is used. He found that his sound on the washboard blends with numerous combinations of instruments, and is applicable to a variety of musical genres and styles including but not limited to Jazz (swing, bebop, post-bop, hard bop, avant-garde, free jazz, fusion), Blues (acoustic and electric), World (Brazilian, Colombian, Cuban, Jamaican), Roots, Classical (string orchestra, brass ensembles, woodwind ensembles), Electronic, New Music and Modern Dance.

WashboardXT was featured in ABC7 NY WABC-TV's 2020 Black History Month; played with Vienna Carroll at the American Folk Art Museum; awarded a 2019 NYFA/NYSCA Music/Sound Fellowship; performed with Matthew Shipp in Patricia Nicholson's 70th Birthday Celebration presented by Arts for Art, Inc.; performed for the ESVA Boys and Girls Club in Exmore, VA (2019); participated in "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities: Frank London and Friends" at the New York Public Library (2019), and received a NewMusic USA Project Grant for "2/4/THREE," a performance collaboration with Vincent Chancey which premiered at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn (2018). With the Ebony Hillbillies [3] WashboardXT has appeared at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina; Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco, California; Port Townsend Blues Camp and Festival in Port Townsend, Washington, three cities in Bulgaria under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy and collaborated with the Irish traditional band Téada on a series of U.S. concerts. Newman has also played washboard with percussionist Warren Smith at the Stone; at the Williamsburgh Music Center with Steve Berrios, Gerry Eastman, Joe Ford and Carlton Holmes, and at the 2013 Washboard Music Festival in Logan, Ohio.

Singin' Drums

His solo drumset project, Singin' Drums, premiered at the Williamsburgh Music Center in 1995 and grew with projects Virginia Peanuts Meets Buffalo Chips with saxophonist Joe Ford (The Internet Cafe 1996) and Sound of the Drum/Language of the Heart with dancer/choreographer Mickey Davidson (The Internet Cafe/JVC Jazz Festival 1997). In 1997, he collaborated with Horacee Arnold in Dialogue for 2001: A Duet for Drumset, [4] as part of Many Festival, Performance on 42nd, Whitney Museum of American Art. See Discography below for two recordings of Singin' Drums on Innova label. In 1999, Singin' Drums was presented live-in-concert on Jazz Corner, the BETA Award-winning New York cable TV jazz show. As artistic director for A Celebration of the Drum Set: Give The Drummer Some, on the opening night of the Warwick Summer Arts Festival 2001 Warwick, NY, he performed Singin' Drums, and presented guest artists Steve Berrios and Susie Ibarra in solo and trio settings. In 2012, Baker collaborated with his niece, mezzo-soprano Andrea Baker, along with pianist Richard Lewis, on Singin' Drums: Voice and Drum which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival [5] in Scotland.

Touring

Baker has performed internationally with Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Kenny Barron, Henry Grimes, John Hicks, Kevin Eubanks, Ahmad Jamal, Yvette Glover, Tom Harrell, James Moody, Lou Donaldson, Gloria Lynne, Frank Morgan, Cecil Bridgewater, Benny Powell, Stanley Cowell, John Blake, Jymie Merritt, Frode Gjerstad, Marilyn Crispell, Bobby Bradford, Leroy Jenkins, Myra Melford, Eileen Fulton, Billy Harper Quintet, Henry Threadgill Sextett, Billy Bang Quintet, Francesca Tanksley Trio, Reggie Workman's Topshelf, Sam Rivers Quartet, Charlie Rouse's Cinnamon Flower, Diedre Murray and Fred Hopkins, Gerry Eastman Quartet, Jeanne Lee Quartet, Craig Harris and Tailgator's Tales, Bern Nix, Bobby Zankel, Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya, Ebony Hillbillies, and the Monnette Sudler Quartet. He has participated in USIA tours to Turkey, Poland, Romania, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia. [1]

Music Theater

Teaching artist

Baker offers clinics and master classes in collaboration with saxophonist Sylwester Ostrowski to music conservatories throughout Poland. [7] With Mickey D and Friends and the Avodah Dance Company, Baker brings dance/music residencies and workshops to schools, communities, and correctional facilities throughout the U.S. He has also led masterclasses through such organizations as Jazzmobile, Young Audiences, and Arts Horizons, and served as faculty at Rutgers University-Newark, Widener College, Livingstone College and Shaw University. Baker also teaches privately. [1]

Funding

Baker was awarded a New Music USA 2018 Project Grant, two New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships [8] [9] and grants from Meet The Composer and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Discography

As soloist

As ensemble member

With Vienna Carroll

With Matthew Shipp

With Sylwester Ostrowski and SO Jazz

With Jemeel Moondoc

With Ted Daniel

With The Ebony Hillbillies

With Billy Bang

With David Schnitter

With Henry Grimes

With Bobby Few & Avram Fefer 4tet

With Judi Silvano

With Patrick Brennan

With Carl Grubbs

With Francesca Tanksley

With the Billy Harper Quintet

With Yuka Aikawa

With the Bobby Zankel Trio

With Diedre Murray and Fred Hopkins

With the Bern Nix Trio

With Jeanne Lee

With Gerry Eastman

With the Henry Threadgill Sextett

With Haze Greenfield

With Monnette Sudler

With Cullen Knight

Media

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washboard (musical instrument)</span> Musical percussion instrument

The washboard and frottoir are used as a percussion instrument, employing the ribbed metal surface of the cleaning device as a rhythm instrument. As traditionally used in jazz, zydeco, skiffle, jug band, and old-time music, the washboard remained in its wooden frame and is played primarily by tapping, but also scraping the washboard with thimbles. Often the washboard has additional traps, such as a wood block, a cowbell, and even small cymbals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Threadgill</span> American composer, saxophonist and flautist

Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He has performed and recorded with several ensembles: Air, Aggregation Orb, Make a Move, the seven-piece Henry Threadgill Sextett, the twenty-piece Society Situation Dance Band, Very Very Circus, X-75, and Zooid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Altschul</span> American drummer

Barry Altschul is a free jazz and hard bop drummer who first came to notice in the late 1960s for performing with pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Campbell Jr.</span> American trumpeter (1952–2014)

Roy Sinclair Campbell Jr. was an American trumpeter frequently linked to free jazz, although he also performed rhythm and blues and funk during his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Swell</span> American jazz trombonist, composer, and educator

Steve Swell is an American free jazz trombonist, composer, and educator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoosier Hot Shots</span> American quartet

The Hoosier Hot Shots were an American quartet of musicians who entertained on stage, screen, radio, and records from the mid-1930s into the 1970s. The group formed in Indiana where they performed on local radio before moving to Chicago and a nationwide broadcasting and recording career. The group later moved to Hollywood to star in western movies.

Fred Hopkins was an American double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was best known for his association with the trio Air with Henry Threadgill and Steve McCall, and for his numerous performances and extensive recordings with major jazz musicians such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Arthur Blythe, Oliver Lake, and David Murray. He was a member of the AACM, and a frequent participant in the loft jazz scene of the 1970s. He also co-led a number of albums with the composer and cellist Diedre Murray. Gary Giddins wrote that Hopkins' playing "fused audacious power with mercuric reflexes." Howard Reich, writing in the Chicago Tribune, stated that "many connoisseurs considered [Hopkins] the most accomplished jazz bassist of his generation" and praised him for "the extraordinarily fluid technique, sumptuous tone and innovative methods he brought to his instrument."

Douglas R. Ewart is a Jamaican multi-instrumentalist and instrument builder. He plays sopranino and alto saxophones, clarinets, bassoon, flute, bamboo flutes, and didgeridoo; as well as Rastafarian hand drums.

Diedre Murray is an American cellist and composer specializing in jazz and musical theater. She also works as a record producer and curator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kahil El'Zabar</span> American drummer

Kahil El'Zabar is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer. He regularly records for Delmark Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burton Greene</span> American jazz pianist (1937–2021)

Burton Greene was an American free jazz pianist born in Chicago, Illinois, though most known for his work in New York City. He explored multiple genres, including avant-garde jazz and the Klezmer medium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Lowe</span> American jazz saxophonist and composer

Frank Lowe was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pheeroan akLaff</span> American jazz drummer

Pheeroan akLaff is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. He began playing in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan and Ann Arbor, with R & B keyboardist Travis Biggs, funk keyboardist Nimrod “The Grinder” Lumpkin, The Ebony Set and The Last Days. He moved to New Haven, Connecticut, and formed a group with saxophonist/flautist/percussionist Dwight Andrews. He debuted with saxophonist Bill Barron in 1975, followed by a tenure in Leo Smith's ‘New Dalta Ahkri’ (1977-1979).

Robert D. Rusch was an American jazz critic and record producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilliard Greene</span> American jazz musician

Hilliard Greene is an American bassist specializing in modern creative, improvised, and jazz music, as well as a music educator.

Reginald "Reggie" Nicholson is an American jazz drummer.

Paul F. Murphy is a percussionist, bandleader and composer. He is best known for having led a variety of small jazz ensembles, and for his long tenure in groups led by saxophonist Jimmy Lyons.

The Ebony Hillbillies is an American old-time string band based in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Taylor (drummer)</span> American musician (born 1973)

Chad Taylor is an American drummer, percussionist, and composer. Taylor leads both the Chad Taylor Trio with Brian Settles and Neil Podgurski and Circle Down with Angelica Sanchez and Chris Lightcap. He is a founding member of the Chicago Underground along with Jeff Parker and Rob Mazurek. In 2024, he was selected to lead the University of Pittsburgh's Jazz Studies Program while holding the university's William S. Dietrich II Endowed Chair in Jazz Studies.

<i>Prophecy</i> (Fred Hopkins and Diedre Murray album) 1998 studio album by Fred Hopkins and Diedre Murray

Prophecy is an album by bassist Fred Hopkins and cellist and composer Diedre Murray. It was recorded in August 1990 at RPM Studios in New York City, and was released by About Time Records in 1998. On the album, Hopkins and Murray are joined by guitarist Brandon Ross and drummer Newman Baker.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Porter, Lewis. "Baker, Newman (Taylor)". Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians. jazz.com. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Andrew, Amelinck. "The Reverend Doctor Thomas Nelson Baker a trailblazer for black rights". The Berkshire Eagle. Media News Group. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Ebony Hillbillies". The Kennedy Center. Kennedy Center. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Adam D. Weinberg, Shamim M. Momim (2008). Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria: 25 Years. New York: Whitney Museum of Art. ISBN   9780300139334.
  5. ↑ Michael, Wilkinson. "Singin' Sensation". BroadwayBaby.com. Web Editors Ltd. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Moore, Carman (5 March 2007). "Leroy Jenkins (1932–2007) – An Appreciation". New Music Box. New Music USA. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Whitmore, Warren (March 5, 2013). "SZCZECIN STUDENT ANGELIKA ANOZIE TO SING FOR POLISH PRESIDENT ON 3 MAY". Szczecin News. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "2013 NYFA Artists: Newman Taylor Baker". NYFA Interactive. Carnegie Mellon. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "2019 NYFA Artists: Newman Taylor Baker".
  10. ↑ Edwards, Grego Applegate (14 January 2011). "Solo Drums From Newman Taylor Baker: "Drum Suite Life"". gapplegate music review. blogspot.com. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  11. ↑ Hershkowitz, Toby (February 6, 2020). "Meet 'Washboard XT' musician plays washboard in honor of enslaved grandfather". ABC7NY WABC-TV. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  12. ↑ Dec, Tomasz (June 2015). "Kind of Jazz". Akademinicke Radio Pormorze. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Avodah Dance Ensemble". Avodah Dance Ensemble. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  14. ↑ Monga, Vipal. "Black February". Vipal Monga. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  15. ↑ Oscar, Sanders. "Billy Bang: Long Over Due". Long Over Due. Malcolm Entertainment. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.