Edythe A. Baker (August 25, 1899 – August 15, 1971) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Baker was born in poverty in

Girard, Kansas Girard is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,496. History Girard was founded in the spring of 1868, in opposition to Crawfordsville, and named ...

to Asa and Sophronia Baker. After her mother died around 1910 she was sent to Kansas City, Missouri to live, and attended a convent. There she was trained in piano fundamentals, eventually working for a music store. After touring with a vaudeville troupe in 1918, Edythe moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1919. There she made piano rolls (for Aeolian and

Duo-Art Duo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century, the others being American Piano Company (Ampico), introduced in 1913 too, and Welte-Mignon in 1905. These technologies flourished at that time because of th ...

) between 1919 and 1926; these included

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

and pop pieces. She worked on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in musicals and performed with

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

troupes such as the ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...

''. In 1926, Baker relocated to England, and recorded twenty two pieces there between 1927 and 1933. She became a star there after appearing in revues in 1927.

Constant Lambert Leonard Constant Lambert (23 August 190521 August 1951) was a British composer, conductor, and author. He was the founder and music director of the Royal Ballet, and (alongside Ninette de Valois and Frederick Ashton) he was a major figure in th ...

saw her perform, and suggested to

Harold Rutland Harold Rutland (August 21, 1900 – July 23, 1977) was a British pianist, music critic and composer. He began studying at the Guildhall School of Music, became organ scholar at Queen's College, Cambridge, and completed his studies at the Royal Col ...

that she might be the soloist for the premiere of his jazz-influenced choral piece '' The Rio Grande'' in 1930. However,

Hamilton Harty Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty (4 December 1879 – 19 February 1941) was an Irish composer, conductor, pianist and organist. After an early career as a church organist in his native Ireland, Harty moved to London at about age 20, soon becoming a w ...

was the eventual soloist.'Harold Rutland's Music Diary', ''Radio Times'' Issue 1444, 13 July, 1951, p.7
/ref> She married into the

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becau ...

family of Gerard d'Erlanger in 1928, and left the music industry after the mid 1930s. After divorcing d'Erlanger, she romanced the

Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edwar ...

. Baker returned to the United States in the late 1940s, at one point settling in Laguna, California and enjoying a quiet life of

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and gardening. Little was heard of her until her death in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before 1920. While many other ...

in 1971. A selection of Baker's piano rolls, recorded by Dave Jasen, were reissued on an album released by Folkways Records in 1983. Baker died in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1971, aged 71.

Confusion

Previously recorded dates of August 3, 1895 to November 22, 1965, were erroneously applied from another Edythe Baker who was born in Michigan and died in New York. This newer listing of 1899 to 1971 constitutes a correction discovered in September 1910. The August 1899 date was on three different passports and passenger lists, and the August 1971 date with a matching birth date was found in California death records.

References

External links

Article
from the American Musical Instrument Collectors' Association, 1971
Biography
Article and research by ragtime historian Bill Edwards, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Edythe 1899 births 1971 deaths Musicians from Missouri Musicians from Kansas People from Girard, Kansas People from Kansas City, Missouri 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists Ragtime composers Ragtime pianists