Jim Baker
Routines
*Edition of 300 glass-mastered CDs in wallet with spine.* "Three leaders in the Chicago free improv scene -Keefe Jackson on tenor & sopranino saxophones, Jim Baker on piano & synthesizer and Julian Kirshner on drums - in a collective album of concentrative conversation, a group of equals that function together through close listening and interactive support in expressive playing that leaves ego out of the equation." - squidco.comKettle Hole Records is a Chicago-based independent record label, wh…
Scylla
This fourth record by the long-standing improvising ensemble Rempis/Abrams/Ra, and the third featuring now-regular band member Jim Baker, was recorded in a watershed moment for these musicians during a pandemic that had gutted lives across the planet. After 15 months of being closed to the public, the band's home base Elastic Arts had re-opened for live events. And Rempis decided to relaunch his weekly Thursday-night concert series, a hub of the Chicago scene since 2002, with a performance by th…
So Glossy and So Thin
* Edition of 100 * Recorded live at the Hungry Brain, Chicago on June 10, 2018 (track 1) and September 29, 2019 (track 2). Performed by Keefe Jackson - tenor/sopranino saxophone, Jim Baker - piano/synthesizer, Julian Kirshner - drums. Engineer: Bill Harris.
June Holiday
**CD version** "A sublime trio set from drummer Charles Rumback – a record that has us really appreciating the special touch the leader can bring to a date, as this album may also be one of the best that we've heard from pianist Jim Baker in years! Baker has this great way of sounding soulful and lyrical, yet also moving towards the freer side of his spectrum too – working with the subtle drums of Rumback and the careful bass of John Tate, all with energy that almost takes us back to the groundb…
Cadillac Turns
**300 copies** Sydney, Australia, 2010: “Are you Charles Rumback?” A chance encounter, if such a thing exists, found the drummer / composer, jet-lagged on a barstool, post-soundcheck, on a Friday in a tiny Sydney club. Calling out of context, like an incredulous kid recognizing their grade school teacher in line at the grocery store, was renowned New Orleans bassist James Singleton, having recognized Rumback from a gig just 5 days prior at the Skylark way back in Chicago. Little did Singleton kn…