Ginger Baker RIP

[arturs]

Reported in the NY Times this morning. In my mind one of the most interesting and influential drummers rock ever had. He brought an unmistakable tribal pulse into rock music that he later fleshed out as he formally incorporated world music into his sound, decades before anyone else thought of doing so.

One of the very few drummers where I can listen to his drum solos over and over and not only enjoy them but hear something new almost every time.

RIP

[walt]

RIP you gifted curmudgeon and thanks for the music.


(try not to piss off God/Satan too much.)

[BravadoNJ]

one less legend in our world today....... RIP

[spacefreak]

Simply the best! RIP.

[Rarebird]

one less legend in our world today....... RIP

There will be enough great musicians to fight with, where-ever he will go.

[Dan Roth]

RIP Ginger

For a rarity, check out Ginger smiling from 4:59-5:04 as he drums for Hawkwind:



Hawkwind posted this on their Facebook:

"So very, very sorry to hear this.....Fly high Ginger! You were a one off and and a true legend...We were honoured to work with you...RIP "

[JJ88]

I believe that with the exception of John McLaughlin (a line-up which never made it into the recording studio), everyone else who was in The Graham Bond Organisation is no longer with us. Baker, Bond, Bruce, Heckstall-Smith, Hiseman- all gone.

[ronmac]

RIP, Ginger. You were one of a kind.

[Lopez]

A virtuoso musician, but, I guess, not a virtuoso human being. Too bad, he was an immense drummer and an even more immense personality.

[JJ88]

Baker looks almost saintly when one looks at some of the stories out there about Graham Bond.

[The Gak Omek]

One of the things that amazed me when first hearing "Sunshine of Your Love" when I was 13 years old was how unique and innovative the drumming was.

[spellbound]

Rest in peace, Ginger. Such an inventive and powerful drummer. When I think of my younger days, Cream's music always comes to mind. When I came to appreciate jazz, you were there, playing jazz. What a talent!

[Paulrus]

Definitely a legend. He'll never be one of my favorite drummers, but I credit him as bridging those early 60s, blues-based drummers and the late 60s heavy rock of people like John Bonham.

I'm sure many who knew him well are surprised he made it this long! RIP, Ginger.

[GeneTull]

Another one of rock's greatest drummers is now jamming in that big band in the sky with Jon Hiseman, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Buddy Rich, and all the rest. The Trimaximalist recently did a reaction/breakdown of two great tracks from the first Baker Gurvitz Army album. Couldn't be more timely:

[Vic2012]

RIP. Great drummer. Probably one of the first double kick drummers in rock.

[rcarlberg]

(try not to piss off God/Satan too much.)

He'll be running the place by Monday.

Ginger's solo albums:

• Falling Off The Roof (1996) - with Bill Frisell & Charlie Haden. Baker's slightly-loopy jazz never quite gelled for me; his drumming was so "out-of-the-pocket" that it feels imported from another studio altogether. That said, Frissell and Haden make a lovely racket
• Going Back Home (1994) - same trio as above. Baker's drumming is a little more integrated on this one, though he often seems to be playing solo and the other instruments dubbed on later
• Middle Passage (1990) - Bill Laswell sat Ginger down in a studio and said, "Play." Afterward he dubbed in some other instruments. Ginger's drum solos continue pretty much uninterrupted by the other musicians
• Horses and Trees (1986) - whether these tracks are leftovers from some other session, as has been alleged, or not, the mixture of Ginger's powerhouse drumming with Laswell's imaginative overdubs makes for my favorite Baker solo album

I do not own copies of African Force (1987), Unseen Rain (1992), Coward of the County (1999), or Why? (2014).

[dropforge]

RIP. Another rock legend gone.

[rcarlberg]

[ronmac]

Another one of rock's greatest drummers is now jamming in that big band in the sky with Jon Hiseman, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Buddy Rich, and all the rest.

Would Buddy Rich play with any of those guys? He pompously hated rock.

[GeneTull]

Would Buddy Rich play with any of those guys? He pompously hated rock.

He did some electrified jazz-funk albums during the mid-1970s, so he was inching close for a time.

[Mister Triscuits]

Pressed Rat and Warthog have closed down their shop.

[JKL2000]

Someone I know posted this on FB. Pretty funny I thought:

“Oh, no!”
- Jack Bruce

[rcarlberg]

"He was a great drummer."

That should be his epitaph.

[jake]

Would Buddy Rich play with any of those guys? He pompously hated rock.

He also pompously hated other musicians as the famous tour bus recordings showed. Asshole!

[Steve F.]

He'll be running the place by Monday.

Ginger's solo albums:

• Falling Off The Roof (1996) - with Bill Frisell & Charlie Haden. Baker's slightly-loopy jazz never quite gelled for me; his drumming was so "out-of-the-pocket" that it feels imported from another studio altogether. That said, Frissell and Haden make a lovely racket
• Going Back Home (1994) - same trio as above. Baker's drumming is a little more integrated on this one, though he often seems to be playing solo and the other instruments dubbed on later
• Middle Passage (1990) - Bill Laswell sat Ginger down in a studio and said, "Play." Afterward he dubbed in some other instruments. Ginger's drum solos continue pretty much uninterrupted by the other musicians
• Horses and Trees (1986) - whether these tracks are leftovers from some other session, as has been alleged, or not, the mixture of Ginger's powerhouse drumming with Laswell's imaginative overdubs makes for my favorite Baker solo album

I do not own copies of African Force (1987), Unseen Rain (1992), Coward of the County (1999), or Why? (2014).

Good summation. For whatever reason, I think Middle Passage is the best of the two Laswell albums and one of a number of really great albums that appeared on Axiom.