My Life as an Acoustic Artist

I was surrounded by music in my early years. My father was a talented, classically-trained vocalist and percussionist, and my mother was a gifted pianist and organist. Here's a photo of one of their ensembles from the late 40s. Early in their marriage, they hosted a weekly radio program on what is now WIMA in Lima, Ohio. My dad sang, and my mother accompanied him. The staff announcer on their show was a young student at Blufton College by the name of Hugh Downs!

Left to right:

My dad (Jim Baker), Jim Eddy, Bob Randolph, my mother (Lou) and Blaine Slater.

(Circa 1948)

Somewhere along the way, I began playing in school bands. I had taught myself to play an old trumpet I found in my grandmother's closet, but chose instead to begin playing french horn in the Kenton Junior High School band. One of my most cherished early experiences was the annual music camp sponsored by the Philharmonic Society of Tuscarawas County (Ohio), where my dad was music supervisor for the county schools. My dad had been involved with the early days of the camp and took great pride and pleasure in conducting the vocal music classes.

My dad, Jim Baker, conducts a choral group

during the annual music camp sponsored by the

Tuscarawas County (Ohio) Philharmonic Society.

(Ca. 1950)

Gilbert Roehm conducted the orchestra at the camp and taught violin. Gilbert was the founder of the Philharmonic Society, and conducted the community symphony.

I began playing french horn in the orchestra and, later, trombone. I remember well all those great orchestral pieces in our repertoire: El Relicario, the Overture to the Barber of Seville, the Mozart G-Minor Symphony, etc., etc., etc.

I had begun studying piano at an early age and can still recall my mother grabbing me by the ear and dragging me into Mrs. Flanagan's music studio in Kenton, Ohio, for my first piano lesson. Let's see -- how old was I? 6 or 7? Nine years and countless minuets and concertinos later, my art had advanced to the stage where I could actually tell time by the piano. I would begin playing in the middle of the night, and soon someone would shout, "Hey! Cut it out! It's 2 o'clock in the morning!"

But allow me to back up a sec -- Sometime around the 8^th grade, I decided to turn in my horn for a tenor sax. I spent my last pre-high school year playing reeds; a good experience as I look back on it. During the summer before my freshman year, I met Kenton's new band director, Bill Moffit. In what was for me a defining moment, Bill introduced me to the sound of the Stan Kenton band. When I heard Kenton's trombone section, I exclaimed, "Man! I didn't know trombones could sound like that! That's what I want to play!" And so I did. My grandmother Baker (bless her heart) bought me a trombone from a wholesale catalog, and over the summer I taught myself how to play it well enough to start my high school career as "first-chair, second." What a band we had! The Kenton High School Wildcat Band under Moffit deserves its own page, and here it is.

After high school, I attended college for a time at Illinois Tech in Chicago where I was exposed to some great sounds for the first time. I can recall being totally transported at the Bird House by the Horace Silvers Quintet. And what an experience to attend the concert at the Shrine auditorium featuring both the Count Basie and Stan Kenton bands!

Then it was back to Ohio where I played piano for a time with the Jeannie Kaye Trio. Jeannie was a Columbus, Ohio, tv personality and a fine singer. We played a lot of supper clubs in the central Ohio area. That's Chuck Halderman on bass. Around about this time, the US army decided it wanted to add me to its roster, so I outsmarted it by enlisting in the Navy. What a great time I had in Uncle Sam's yacht club. Although I continued to play piano (mainly in my living room for my own amusement, I didn't pick my horn back up until 1981.

In that year, we moved to Ashland, Ohio, and I began playing in the Ashland Symphony. Most of my playing was still with the "family" band, however, Cass on sax or violin, Jenn on bass or flute, Jean at the piano, and I on trombone. And every now and again I'd grab the guitar and let out with a tune like "You Two Timed Me One Time Too Often."

Now and again we'd be joined in our living room by guest artists like Kevin Stever,

a fine Florida bassist, and Lisa Walton, a talented Ohio vocalist.

Then, back in Florida, I was fortunate enough to get a chair in the bone section of Mike Arena's big band.

Finally (we're almost done), we moved Kansas City and I fell under the influence of this great musical town. Here I am participating in some jazz al fresco with saxophonist Jim Barker and trumpeter Rich Wilson.

Dave at the Steinway concert grand at the Folly Theatre during an October, 99, performance by the River City Jazz Orchestra. (The piano had been played the night before by none other than George Shearing!)