Newman Taylor Baker

Newman Taylor Baker is a drummer best known for Singin' Drums, his exploration of the washboard, and his work with musicians Henry Threadgill, Billy Bang, Henry Grimes, Leroy Jenkins, and Diedre Murray and choreographers Mickey Davidson and Joanne Tucker Mr.Baker currently performs in the ensembles of Makoto Kuriya, Jemeel Moondoc, Sylwester Ostrowski, Henrique Prince, Cheryl Pyle and Matthew Shipp, among others. Singin' Drums, his solo drumset project, has also featured collaborations with fellow drummers Horacee Arnold, Steve Berrios, Susie Ibarra. In 2012, Mr. Baker collaborated with his niece, mezzo-soprano Andrea Baker, along with pianist Richard Lewis, on Singin' Drums: Voice and Drum which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.Baker released his premiere solo drum recording, Drum Suite Life, on Innova label in 2013. For the past five years, Newman T

Spirit Stronger Than Blood

By Frank London

Label: ESP-Disk
Released: 2024
Track listing: Let There Be Peace; Resilience; Spirit Stronger Than Blood; Poem for a Blue Voice; Abundant Love; Resistance/Healing.

Good News Blues

By Karen Borca

Label: NoBusiness Records
Released: 2024
Track listing: Good News Blues; Something; Cambiar; 45 Hours / New Piece.

New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz

By Matthew Shipp

Label: ESP-Disk
Released: 2024
Track listing: Primal Poem; Sea Song; The Function; Non Circle; Tone IQ; Brain System; Brain Work; Coherent System.

Karen Borca: Good News Blues

by John Sharpe
November 11, 2024

Pioneering jazz bassoonist Karen Borca has had to wait a long time for her leadership debut. It arrives courtesy of the adventurous Lithuanian NoBusiness imprint, compiled from archival recordings of two appearances at New York City's fabled Vision Festival. But that is not to say that she does not have a weighty resume. An acolyte of ...

Matthew Shipp: New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz

by Mark Corroto
April 4, 2024

Jazz fans are much like baseball geeks; they collect facts and statistics. The baseball fan will know a player's numbers such as on base percentage, at bats, home runs and stolen bases, whereas the jazz fan, maybe better said the jazz fanatic, will note recording dates and lineups, titles, releases and recording engineers. The baseball fan ...

Matthew Shipp Trio: New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz

by Karl Ackermann
March 25, 2024

Matthew Shipp with bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Newman Taylor Baker, issue their fifth album as the most enduring of Shipp's various trios. New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz is another vehicle for the pianist/composer in which to express his singular, intricate vision. The perpetual sea-change artist believes that this album is a substantial leap ahead ...

Rich Halley: Fire Within

by Troy Dostert
February 10, 2024

The cover and title of Rich Halley's latest, Fire Within, have a menacing edge, alerting us to the incendiary qualities that are always a part of the tenor saxophonist's music. But one of the remarkable things about Halley's output is that it is never one-dimensional; there are abundant nuances and surprises to keep a listener engaged, ...

Rich Halley, Ethan Philion and Other Releases

by Jerome Wilson
January 30, 2024

Here are a few more albums from 2023 that deserve some belated recognition. Rich Halley Fire Within Pine Eagle Records 2023 This is tenor saxophonist Rich Halley's third recording with a quartet that also features Matthew Shipp on piano, Michael Bisio on bass, and Newman Taylor Baker on ...

Fire Within

By Rich Halley

Label: Pine Eagle Records
Released: 2023
Track listing: Fire Within; Inferred; Angular Logic; Through Still Air; Following The Stream.