Fred Thelonious Baker (born 4 June 1960) is an English guitarist and

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 major ...

bass guitarist from

Tibshelf Tibshelf is a village and civil parish in the Bolsover District in Derbyshire, England. Located between the towns of Clay Cross, Shirebrook, Mansfield and Chesterfield. It had a population at the 2001 UK census of 3,548, increasing to 3,787 at th ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. He is known for playing in Phil Miller's Canterbury scene band

In Cahoots In Cahoots was a Canterbury scene band led by guitarist Phil Miller, their main composer. History The band was formed in November 1982 by Miller with Pip Pyle (drums), Richard Sinclair (bass) and Elton Dean (saxophone), as the Phil Miller Quar ...

. Baker played the guitar until his mid-teens, at which point he began to take an interest in the bass as well. He played in The

John Etheridge John Michael Glyn Etheridge (born 12 January 1948) is an English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator known for his eclecticism and broad range of associations in jazz, classical, and contemporary music. He is best known fo ...

Ric Sanders Richard Sanders (born 8 December 1952) is an English violinist who has played in jazz-rock, folk rock, British folk rock and folk groups, including Soft Machine and Fairport Convention. Biography Sanders' first experience with a professional ...

Group in the early 1980s. He has also worked with his own group, the Fred Thelonious Baker Group who recorded a self-titled album in 1984. Baker has recorded several albums with Harry Beckett. They have also made a concert tour in Europe together. Baker accompanied Beckett's band on a

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

tribute tour in the UK. Other artists Baker has worked with include

Horace Parlan Horace Parlan (January 19, 1931 – February 23, 2017) was an American pianist and composer known for working in the hard bop and post-bop styles of jazz. In addition to his work as a bandleader Parlan was known for his contributions to the Char ...

, Vikki Clayton and

Elton Dean Elton Dean (28 October 1945 – 8 February 2006) was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello (a variant of the soprano saxophone) and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in, among oth ...

. Baker joined In Cahoots in April 1988, replacing their bassist

Hugh Hopper Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands. Biography Early career Starting in ...

. He has toured and recorded six albums with them, and remains a key member of the band. He also works as a teacher at

Birmingham Conservatoire The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly res ...

and The University of Huddersfield.

Discography

References

''Double Up''
. philmiller-incahoots.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2010.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Fred Thelonious 1960 births Living people English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists Place of birth missing (living people) Canterbury scene British jazz bass guitarists People from Tibshelf Alumni of Birmingham Conservatoire In Cahoots members British male jazz musicians 2nd Vision members