David N. Baker

David Baker (December 21, 1931 – March 26, 2016) was a composer, teacher, performer, and author from Indianapolis, IN. He grew with the influences of the rich music culture surrounding him, especially jazz, R&B, and gospel music. He started in the Indianapolis jazz scene in his teens, establishing himself as a young musician early in life. After attending the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music, Baker went on to Indiana University. There he received a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1953 and a master’s shortly thereafter. While he was denied a career in symphony orchestras due to his race, he made a successful career in jazz playing in the ensembles of Quincy Jones and George Russell. After a jaw injury resulting from a car accident in 1953, he was left unable to play the trombone by the early 1960’s and was forced to switch to the cello. During that time, he joined the faculty at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO. Baker then joined the faculty of Indiana University in 1966, and founded the jazz studies department in 1968. He served as chair of the program until 2013. This program was among the first of its kind in American universities, as jazz had not yet been incorporated into the music curriculum at all. In 1990, Baker became the first artistic director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and served that position until 2012. His achievements have earned him nominations for Grammys and the Pulitzer Prize, even being asked to serve on the prize’s Music Jury six times. Baker’s catalogue includes over 2,000 works and is characterized by his fusion of  his passions for Western classical music with jazz and other genres. Many of his vocal works choose texts about Black cultural themes and topics. As a performer and author he has produced more than 65 recordings, 70 books, and 400 articles.

—Tyrese Byrd

This profile was created in 2021 as part of The Savvy Singer, an EXCEL Lab course at the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance and a collaboration with the Hampsong Foundation via the Classic Song Research Initiative.

“David Baker.” African Diaspora Music Project. Accessed December 16, 2021. http://africandiasporamusicproject.org/david_baker.

Fox, Margalit. “David Baker, Who Helped Bring Jazz Studies Into the Academy, Dies at 84.” The New York Times.  March 29, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/arts/music/david-baker-who-helped-bring-jazz-studies-into-the-academy-dies-at-84.html.

Johnson, John Andrew. “International Dictionary of Black Composers.” Book. Chicago ; London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999.