Fred Thelonious Baker (born 4 June 1960) is an English guitarist and jazz bass guitarist from Tibshelf, Derbyshire. He is known for playing in Phil Miller's Canterbury scene band In Cahoots.[1]

Fred Thelonious Baker in 2007

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/Ric Sanders 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.[2] 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 tribute tour in the UK. Other artists Baker has worked with include Horace Parlan, Vikki Clayton and Elton Dean.[1]

Baker joined In Cahoots in April 1988, replacing their bassist Hugh Hopper.[3] 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 and The University of Huddersfield.[1]

Baker is the current bassist for Soft Machine, having been chosen by his predecessor Roy Babbington.[4]

Discography edit

Year Artist Title
1984 Fred Thelonious Baker Fred Thelonious Baker Group (released 1988)
1987 Harry Beckett Bremen Concert
1987 Harry Beckett Live, Vol. 2
1988 Phil Miller Split Seconds
1989 In Cahoots In Cahoots Live 86–89
1991 Phil Miller Digging In
1991 Harry Beckett All Four One
1992 Phil Miller & Fred Baker Double Up[5]
1993 In Cahoots In Cahoots Live in Japan
1993 various artists A Moon of Roses[6]
1993 Harry Beckett Les Jardins Du Casino
1994 In Cahoots Recent Discoveries
1994 Fred Thelonious Baker Missing Link[7]
1996 In Cahoots Parallel
1998 Pip Pyle 7 Year Itch
1999 Fred Thelonious Baker Basically Speaking
2001 In Cahoots Out of the Blue
2003 In Cahoots All That
2004 Pip Pyle's Bash! Belle Illusion
2004 Pete Saberton Rich Core
2007 In Cahoots Conspiracy Theories
2010 Joe Sachse, John Marshall & Fred T. Baker One Take
2010 Joe Sachse, John Marshall & Fred T. Baker 18. Chemnitzer Jazzfest (DVD of above, released 2013)
2011 Phil Miller In Cahoots Mind Over Matter
2014 Fred Thelonious Baker Life Suite

References edit

[1][3][5][7]

  1. ^ a b c d Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; Priestley, Brian (2004). The Rough Guide to Jazz. Rough Guides. p. 37. ISBN 1-84353-256-5.
  2. ^ "Fred Thelonious Baker - WOMEX". Womex.com. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Fred Baker". philmiller-incahoots.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  4. ^ "Soft Machine Band Bio".
  5. ^ a b Double Up Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine. philmiller-incahoots.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  6. ^ "Various - A Moon Of Roses". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 May 2020.

External links edit