Duck Baker's Profile
Duck came out as one of the star
artists of Kicking Mule Records which Stefam Grossman had founded
with ED Denson in 1973. Kicking Mule was the label which took
a variety of acoustic guitar sounds like country blues, ragtime
guitar, contemporary figerpicking, flatpicking, etc. and heated
a lot of guitar maniacs all over the world then. Duck was noticed
for his fingerstyle jazz guitar added new interpreted improvisation.
And he has brought out a lot of excellent arrangements as a pioneer
in the field of Celtic fingerstyle guitar which adapts the fiddle,
bagpipe and Irish harp music to the guitar.
The masetrpieces like "The Art Of FingerStyle Jazz Guitar",
"Kid On The Mountain", "Irich Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes
& Airs", etc. in the era of Kicking Mule are now released
as CDs of another edition by Shanachie Records. And also Duck
rleased "Opening The Eyes Of Love" and the blues duet
albumn with Stefan Grossman "Northrn
Skies, Southern Blues" with Shanachie Records. The
latter has been released from TAB label in Japan. In additon,
he released many hot albums: "A Thousand Words", "The
Clear Blue Sky" and "Ms. Right" with Acoustic Music
Records, the label presided by Peter Finger in Germany, and "Spinning
Song" dedicated to Herbie Nichols with AVANT label produced
by John Zorn, etc. His latest album is "My
Heart Belongs To Jenny", which was released from TAB
label in Japan in 2000.
Duck also released a lot of video lessons, and some of them
has been released in Japan. For example, "Fingerstyle Jazz
Guitar" (Vol.1～3) and "Guitar Aerobics" was released
from Rittor Music and "The
Music Of Thelonious Monk Arranged for Fingerstyle Guitar"
has been released from TAB label. In March 1998 the omnibus performance
videos featuring Duck, "Celtic
Fingerstyle Guitar" (Vol.1 & Vol.2) was released
by TAB label. In April, 1998, he came to Japan for the first time
for TAB Guitar School presents "Fingerpicking Special Concert
Volume one". Afterwards, in Japan he toured with Pat Donohue
and John Renbourn and enfevered a lt of his Japanese guitar fans.