During this 10th anniversary celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, Smithsonian Jazz honors educator, composer, musician and longtime Smithsonian collaborator Dr. David N. Baker. Dr. Baker is Chairman of the Jazz Department at Indiana University’s School of Music, and Conductor and Artistic Director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (SJMO). The Smithsonian Institution and Smithsonian Jazz are privileged to have had Baker’s input throughout his esteemed career. As a charter member of the SJMO, Baker has brought energy and expertise into the band’s 20th anniversary this year. The knowledge and experience he offers is a result of many important moments that forged his career, one of which is his time at the Lenox School of Jazz in 1959 and 1960. At 19- and 20-years-old, Baker received recognition for his trombone playing at the camp, but he also encountered ideas which are cornerstones of his work inside and outside of the Smithsonian.
via blog.americanhistory.si.edu
