Ginger Baker

For a change, the late 1960s yielded up a supergroup that lived up to its hype and then some. Ginger Baker's Air Force was recorded live at Royal Albert Hall in January of 1970 - in fact, this may be the best-sounding live album ever to come out of that notoriously difficult venue - at a show that must have been a wonder to watch, as the ten-piece band blazed away in sheets of sound, projected delicate flute parts behind multi-layered African percussion, or built their songs up Bolero-like, out of rhythms from a single instrument into huge jazz-cum-R&B crescendos. Considering that this was only their second gig, the group sounds astonishingly tight, which greatly reduces the level of self-indulgence that one would expect to find on an album where five of the seven tracks run in excess of ten minutes…

Persuaded by Laswell to continue working throughout the second half of 1980s, drummer Ginger Baker produced some of his most stimulating collections, not least of which were the Laswell produced Middle Passage and this 1986 set. The drummer is rock-solid throughout, which means that most of the compositions become a showcase for an impressive lineup of guest musicians that reads like a list of the Bill Laswell all-stars. Even when pared down to an all-rhythm trio on "Mountain Time," Baker, though undeniably effective, remains the big beat behind Daniel Ponce and Aiyb Dieng's percussion display.

Hearts on Fire is Baker Gurvitz Army's third and last studio album, released in 1976. Baker Gurvitz Army were an English rock group. Their self-titled debut album featured a blend of hard rock laced with Ginger Baker's jazz- and Afrobeat-influenced drumming. The lengthy "Mad Jack" was that album's outstanding track, and the album hit the US Billboard 200 chart, and peaked at number 22 in the UK Albums Chart. The two following albums contained similar material, although neither charted in the UK nor the US.

A gathering of British classic rock legends took the stage in London on Monday night (Feb. 17) to give Ginger Baker a proper sendoff. The drummer’s two-time bandmate, Eric Clapton, had announced the benefit concert to celebrate the musical life of his “dear friend” who died at 80 on October 6, 2019. The charity event, billed as Eric Clapton & Friends: A Tribute to Ginger Baker, was held at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith in London, U.K. Some friends! Joining EC were such legends as Steve Winwood (who formed Blind Faith with Baker, Clapton and Ric Grech), Ronnie Wood, Roger Waters and Nile Rodgers.

The most pleasant surprises on Ginger Baker's first mainstream release in almost a decade are subtle. That term may not be generally applied to the 74 year-old bohemian beat master, but restraint has been an unheralded constant in Baker's wide-ranging career nonetheless…

Ginger Baker and the DJQ20 - Coward Of The County (1999) {Atlantic 7567-83168-2}
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© 1999 Atlantic / WEA | 7567-83168-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Postbebop / Fusion / Drums / Saxophone

Ginger Baker's taken the long road to a position at the height of the jazz drums family. He spent half a decade playing jazz in England before making it very, very big with Cream. Then he nearly vanished, playing drums all the while but without the fan base Cream afforded him. Then came his two head-turning jazz trio CDs Going Back Home and Falling Off the Roof, both of which featured the bass and guitar of Charlie Haden and Bill Frisell, and which won accolades and more. Following those outings is this collection from Baker's Denver Quintet to Octet (or DJQ2O), which employs a host of the finest jazzers from Colorado's biggest city. Saxophonist Fred Hess and trumpeter Ron Miles are the best known of the bunch, but the entire band plays strong postbop. The group can vamp in a minor key with strong feeling, and it can get ferociously gritty, as on "Daylight," which gets drenched in distorted electric and pedal steel guitars at once. This is a jazz ensemble that should be on the road constantly, playing to ravaged crowds; its members are talented in every way.

Baker has always loved African music and has lived there as well, so it’s natural that there should be a strong African feel to this music. Baker is joined by Abass Dodoo on percussion, and his Jazz Confusion quartet is completed by bassist Alec Dankworth and former James Brown and Van Morrison tenor saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis. It’s easy to forget just how Baker brought a different sound to rock drumming with Cream, because his playing has always been more naturally at home in the wider rhythmic context of jazz.

Ginger Baker - No Material (1987) {2CD Set, ITM Records ITM920012 rel 2013}
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© 1987, 2013 ITM Records | ITM 920012
Jazz / Fusion / Avant-Garde Jazz / Jazz Rock

A definitive two CD edition from ITM Archives bringing together for the first time in one package the two live No Material recordings from March 25 and 28, 1987. This heavyweight group only actually existed for one week but these recordings, the only ones they made, have always been acknowledged as superlative sets of outer limits rock-jazz.

Ginger Baker - Middle Passage (1990) {Axiom 539 864-2}
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© 1990 Axiom / Island Records | 539 864-2
Rock / Art Rock / Ethnic Fusion / Jazz / Drums

Awesome mixture of exotic acoustic and electric elements, rhythms and tonalities. Ginger Baker is a world traveler and this has heavy leanings to African themes but Bill Laswell's production brings it out of the village into the studio, but just barely. The drumming and percussion throughout the album goes beyond the boundries of both rock and world music. Bass duties are handled by Laswell and Jah Wobble, often both on the same track. Exotic guitars played by tonemaster Nicky Skopeltis. No vocals, no need for them here.In fact I've played this recording since it first came out (circa 1989) but not until writing this review now did the abscence of vocals even dawn on me.