Educator, NEA Jazz Master David Baker Dies at 84

By Bobby Reed I Apr. 5, 2016

David Baker (left) with Quincy Jones in May 2010
(Photo: Courtesy Indiana University Jacobs School of Music)

Top in his field in several disciplines, Baker taught and performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. He co-founded the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and served as its conductor and musical and artistic director from 1990 to 2012, becoming maestro emeritus on Dec. 1, 2012.

A 1973 Pulitzer Prize nominee, Baker was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1979 and honored three times by DownBeat magazine: as a trombonist, for lifetime achievement and as the third inductee into its Jazz Education Hall of Fame.

He received numerous awards, including the National Association of Jazz Educators Hall of Fame Award (1981), IU President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching (1986), Arts Midwest Jazz Masters Award (1990), Governor’s Arts Award of the State of Indiana (1991), American Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts (2000), Indiana Historical Society’s Living Legend Award (2001), James Smithson Medal from the Smithsonian Institution (2002), Emmy Award for his musical score for the PBS documentary For Gold and Glory (2003), Living Jazz Legend Award from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (2007), Sagamore of the Wabash (2011), IU President’s Medal for Excellence (2012), Satchmo Award from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation (2014), City of Bloomington Black History Month Living Legend Award (2015) and five honorary doctorates, including from Oberlin College (2004) and New England Conservatory (2006).

As a composer, Baker was commissioned by more than 100 individuals and ensembles, including Josef Gingold, Harvey Phillips, Ruggiero Ricci, Janos Starker, Beaux Arts Trio, New York Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Fisk Jubilee Singers, Louisville Orchestra, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Audubon String Quartet and International Horn Society. His compositions, tallying more than 2,000 in number, range from jazz pieces and symphonic works to chamber music and film scores.

A dedicated music educator as well as composer and performer, Baker was involved in numerous music organizations. This included membership on the National Council on the Arts; board positions for the American Symphony Orchestra League, Chamber Music America, Arts Midwest and the Afro-American Bicentennial Hall of Fame/Museum; and past chairmanships of the Jazz Advisory Panel to the Kennedy Center and the Jazz/Folk/Ethnic Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts.

He was past president and past vice president of the International Association for Jazz Education, past president of the National Jazz Service Organization and senior consultant for music programs for the Smithsonian Institution. He served six times on the Pulitzer Prize Music Jury.

Many of his students became giants of jazz themselves, including Jamey Aebersold, Jim Beard, Chris Botti, Michael and Randy Brecker, John Clayton, Peter Erskine, Jeff Hamilton, Freddie Hubbard, Robert Hurst and Shawn Pelton.

Baker’s prolific body of work includes more than 65 recordings, 70 books and 400 articles.

Baker is survived by his wife, Lida Belt Baker; daughter, April (Brad) Ayers; granddaughter, Kirsten (Nick) Bartalone; former wife, Eugenia Baker; nephews David Michael Crawford (Dawn) and Kim Crawford; great-nephews Elijah, Greyson and Trey Crawford; and great-nieces Temeley and Tanzyn Crawford.

Visitation for Dr. David Baker was held at Allen Funeral Home in Bloomington, Indiana, on April 2–3.

Indiana University will hold commemorative events (which are still in the planning stages.)

Memorial Contribution Information

Memorial contributions to the David N. Baker Jazz Scholarship can be made by making a check payable to the IU Foundation and writing in the memo line “David N. Baker Jazz Scholarship Fund.” Checks should be mailed to:

Office of Development
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
1201 East Third Street
Bloomington, IN 47405

Questions about the scholarship can be directed to Melissa Dickson, Jacobs director of development, at dickson9@indiana.edu.