Jazz Articles about David Ian Baker

About David Ian Baker

Album Review

Hot House West: Joy In Rhythm, Vol. I

Read "Joy In Rhythm, Vol. I" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
June 2, 2026

The fourteen-member Hot House West Swing Orchestra, enabled by Salt Lake City, Utah's nonprofit Hot House West, makes its recorded debut with Joy in Rhythm, Vol. 1, an array of eleven danceable songs, most of which were popular during the Swing Era's golden age in the 1930s and '40s. This is an album especially designed for dancing; it even includes a booklet that teaches the listener a number of simple dance moves tailored for beginners. In spite of ...

Album Review

Kristen R. Bromley Quartet: Wes 101

by Jack Bowers
June 13, 2025

Guitarist Kristen Bromley does not try to hide her admiration for an illustrious predecessor, the late great Wes Montgomery. Indeed, that respect is the central theme on Wes 101, Bromley's seventh recording as leader and/or soloist. She and her quartet embrace eight of her charming and luminous compositions, several of which were inspired by tunes that Montgomery either wrote or performed. Bromley replaces the usual piano with organist Melanie Shore, which is a definite plus, as are ...

Album Review

Alex Sjobeck: Pictures in Time

Read "Pictures in Time" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
December 4, 2022

In the esteemed lineage of Bill Evans and Eddie Gomez, Hank Jones and Charlie Haden, Kenny Barron and Dave Holland, pianist Alex Sjobeck and bassist David Baker bring to the fore Pictures In Time, a warm, richly defined nine song collection of emotive and meditative vignettes, each one more rewarding than the last. But taken as whole, Pictures In Time offers a lasting glimpse of a duo deeply connected to the music they make and the format whose tradition they ...