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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bass guitarist from

Tibshelf Tibshelf is a village and civil parish in the Bolsover District in Derbyshire, England. It lies between the towns of Clay Cross, Shirebrook, Mansfield, England, Mansfield and Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield and had a population of 4,348 a ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. He is known for playing in

Phil Miller Philip Paul Miller (22 January 1949 – 18 October 2017) was an English progressive rock/jazz guitarist and a central part of the Canterbury scene. He was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is ...

Canterbury scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) is a musical scene that originated in the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisation ...

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 Qua ...

. 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 and folk groups, including Soft Machine and Fairport Convention. Biography Sanders' first experience with a professional band was in the sum ...

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 Harold Winston Beckett (30 May 1935 – 22 July 2010) was a British trumpeter and flugelhorn player of Barbadian origin. Biography Born in Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados, Harry Beckett learned to play music in a Salvation Army band. A ...

. 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 Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

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 Cha ...

, 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 Soft Mach ...

. 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 i ...

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

and

The University of Huddersfield The University of Huddersfield is a public research university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has been a University since 1992, but has its origins in a series of institutions dating back to the 19th century. It has made te ...

. Baker is the current bassist for

Soft Machine Soft Machine are an English Rock music, rock band from Canterbury, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the Canterbury scene; they became o ...

, having been chosen by his predecessor

Roy Babbington Roy Babbington (born 8 July 1940 in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England) is an English rock and jazz bassist. He became well known for being a member of the Canterbury scene progressive rock band Soft Machine. Biography Babbington started his mus ...

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 bass guitarists Place of birth missing (living people) Canterbury scene British jazz bass guitarists People from Tibshelf Alumni of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire In Cahoots members Soft Machine members English male jazz musicians 2nd Vision members