GINGER BAKER
Why? A Sampler
Show of hands—who remembers Cream? If you do, you'll
probably also recall that Ginger Baker was the drummer backing Eric Clapton and
Jack Bruce. Baker was so identified with Cream and Blind Faith that few know that
his first love was American jazz, not rock and roll. Baker is now 75 and lives
in South Africa, but he's still playing music. He even hits the road
occasionally, though it's almost always with the quartet Jazz Confusion. If the
three-song sampler I recently received is any indication, there's plenty of
verve and energy left in Baker's sticks.
The other members of Jazz Confusion are Pee Wee Ellis on
saxophone, Alec Dankworth on bass, and Abass Dodo on African hand percussion. I
am simply not qualified to judge the merits of Jazz Confusion or Baker's role
in it. I have never played or listened to much jazz and, aside from a brief
fascination with Buddy Rich, know next to nothing about jazz drummers. I can
tell you that there's a lot of percussion on the sampler, including several
Baker solos. The three tunes I sampled are in the bebop tradition. The tunes
are thus conversations between the musicians with improv breakouts that Baker
anchors with steady beats. Ellis–who has backed both James Brown and Van
Morrison–is a marvel who draws so much inspiration from John Coltrane that you
can be a jazz ignoramus and know that much. But make no mistake, this is
exploratory jazz, even when the quartet interprets material such as "AikoBiaye," a Nigerian folk song.
Jazz fans should check out what Baker is up to these days.
Those of you looking for "Sunshine of Your Love" should steer clear.
"Why?" is the closest thing to rock on the sampler–it has gritty bass
lines and pop hooks–but even it veers into the stratosphere. If you don't like
this sort of music, Baker couldn't care less. On the other hand, I'd like to
hear from those of you who like and understand jazz. This isn't my cup of tea,
but I could be convinced to sip some more. –Rob Weir
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