Andrea
The movie about him, Beware of Mr. Baker, is an American documentary film directed by Jay Bulger that explores Baker’s personal history while focusing heavily on his time spent playing great music. Throughout the film, viewers are treated to rare archival footage from all four decades of Baker’s professional career.
Ginger Baker is one of the most outstanding performers of all time. He was blessed with great talent, yet cursed with the same level of temper. Even so, he has remained one of the most admired drummers in the jazz industry.
He had a way of combining this style’s training with a robust polyrhythmic style in the developed world. And he was the best, often referred to as the power trio. No one can ever ignore his constant clashes with bandmates, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton.
Due to his temper, he would often take out on these two, who had their own share of temper. Despite this, the London-born drummers introduced one of the best showmanship to the world of rock.
His signature was the double-kick virtuosity and extended solos. He had a way of adding life to every performance he was involved in; something that inspired many other musicians to follow in his footsteps. And for a while, he was able to make the world of rock have something with a different flavor.
Unfortunately, the Blind Faith did not last long, perhaps because of the constant faith. Hence, Baker moved to Nigeria after the breakup and stayed here for part of the seventies.
This is when Baker learned the afrobeat and created a world of his own here too. When the afrobeat creator Tony Allen commented on the drummer, he said Baker had the deepest understanding of African beat, much more than any Westerner.
Well, this does not come as a surprise since Baker was indeed a man of talent. And through this, he has been business keeping an extended array of projects. He did this, mostly because of his love for drumming that always had something to add to the existing situation.
Ginger Baker never lacked a creative way of expressing his art. And because of this, he has his signature bravura on different styles and genres. He created something that, until today, remains a great reference point in drumming.
So, it was not only in the rock that the mark of his feet can be traced. He intricately braided grooves in mid-seventies, which were at the time undervalued.
One of the biggest projects is the Baker Gurvitz Army. This is among the best drumming projects of all time, which made the mid-seventies come to live with every performance he was involved in.The jazz combos starring famous soloists like Bill Frisell also become a project that has been widely admired. It left many widely amused with the talent that Baker displayed all around the world.
In addition, his compelling collaborations with Public Image Ltd and Masters of Reality was a major turning point, not only for him but for the drumming industry at large.
Baker has left his mark on the market, one that cannot be easily erased. And when today we cannot talk about the greatest drummers without mentioning his name. And by contributing immensely to the African beat as well as rock, he was widely appreciated both in the Western and African words.
