Jim Baker
Jim Baker is a Chicago pianist and synthesist who has been part of the city's improvised music scene since the 1980s. He plays piano and the ARP 2600 synthesizer, and he leads the collective free improvisation quartet Extraordinary Popular Delusions, known for its weekly Monday night sets in Chicago. Jim Baker studied piano with Thomas Scott and composition with Morgan Powell and Herbert Brün at the University of Illinois at Urbana.
The Walls Of The Temple Are Made Of Sound
On March 19th, 1999, legendary soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy played with his working trio at The Velvet Lounge at 2128 ½ S. Indiana Avenue in Chicago. Owned and operated by tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson, The Velvet Lounge was the central hub for a…
Ism
*2025 stock* Ism highlights the distinct qualities of each member. Fred's methodical approach to melody, Ed Wilkerson’s relentless dynamism, Jim’s uncanny ability to subvert expectations, and Avreeayl's inescapable rhythm, which weaves through the mu…
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Routines
*Edition of 300 glass-mastered CDs in wallet with spine.* "Three leaders in the Chicago free improv scene -Keefe Jackson on tenor & sopranino saxophones, Jim Baker on piano & synthesizer and Julian Kirshner on drums - in a collective album of concent…
Scylla
This fourth record by the long-standing improvising ensemble Rempis/Abrams/Ra, and the third featuring now-regular band member Jim Baker, was recorded in a watershed moment for these musicians during a pandemic that had gutted lives across the planet…
So Glossy and So Thin
* Edition of 100 * Recorded live at the Hungry Brain, Chicago on June 10, 2018 (track 1) and September 29, 2019 (track 2). Performed by Keefe Jackson - tenor/sopranino saxophone, Jim Baker - piano/synthesizer, Julian Kirshner - drums. Engineer: Bill …
June Holiday
**CD version** "A sublime trio set from drummer Charles Rumback – a record that has us really appreciating the special touch the leader can bring to a date, as this album may also be one of the best that we've heard from pianist Jim Baker in years! B…
Cadillac Turns
**300 copies** Sydney, Australia, 2010: “Are you Charles Rumback?” A chance encounter, if such a thing exists, found the drummer / composer, jet-lagged on a barstool, post-soundcheck, on a Friday in a tiny Sydney club. Calling out of context, like an…