NTB/Singin' Drums

Newman Taylor Baker Singin' Drums

2011-03-10T00:13:00.004-05:00

Newman Taylor Baker Singin' Drums
DRUM-SUITE-LIFE innova 238
CD Release Party@The Stone NYC
photo: dmitry mandel

2010-11-06T02:04:00.000-04:00

2010-10-30T03:29:00.003-04:00

Shotgun Fun (photo by Susan Ragan)

2010-10-30T02:35:00.005-04:00

A Celebration of Drum-Suite-Life, (innova 238)
Debut CD of Newman Taylor Baker’s Singin’ Drum
http://www.innova.mu/

November 18, 2010
The Stone
2nd St. and Avenue C
New York, NY 10009
http://thestonenyc.com/

8 pm One set
$10 admission
Cds will be for sale and available for autographs

10 pm One Set
Andrew Bemkey and Newman Taylor Baker: Duets
Bass Clarinet, Piano and Drum Set
$10 admission
Drum-Suite-Life is the initial CD of Newman Taylor Baker’s project, Singin’ Drums; the result of a life-long desire to have the drum set accepted as a solo instrument, and using it to honor the U. S. African culture where the drum set developed. For Baker, the drum set represents the strength, intelligence, creativity, power, endurance, and love found in
U. S. African culture. He writes, “The drum set has a story to tell. We present Singin’ Drums in a variety of settings to share our story.”

Drum-Suite-Life is part of innova’s NEA-supported “NYFA Series” celebrating the work of composers who have won the New York Foundation for the Arts Music Composition Fellowships.

http://ntbsingindrums.blogspot.com/

SAVE NOVEMBER 18TH/November Gigs 2010

2010-10-30T01:40:00.009-04:00

The Ebony Hillbillies at Falcon Ridge Folkfest 2010

November 18, 2010 8 pm
Newman Taylor Baker’s Singin’ Drums
Drum-Suite-Life CD Release Party
One Set $10

10pm
Andrew Bemkey and Newman Taylor Baker:
Duets For Piano, Bass Clarinet and Drums
One Set $10
at
The Stone
2nd St. and Avenue C
NYC 10009
Info: 917 865-5629
www.thestonenyc.com

NOVEMBER GIGS 2010

November 4, 2010 8 pm
The Ebony Hillbillies
Henrique Prince, violin
Gloria Gassaway, voice & bones
Norris Bennett, banjo & dulcimer
Bill Salter, acoustic bass
Newman Taylor Baker, washboard
at
Henry Public Bar & Saloon
329 Henry St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201-5575
(718) 852-8630
www.henrypublic.com

November 5, 2010 7 pm
Billy Bang Quartet
Billy Bang , violin
Andrew Bemkey, piano
Hilliard Greene, bass
Newman Taylor Baker, drums
at
Rubin Museum of Art
150 W. 17th St.
NYC 10011
www.rmanyc.org

November 6, 2010 2 pm
Billy Bang Quartet
Same personnel as November 5th
at
The Danforth (Main) Public Library Patterson, NJ
250 Broadway
Paterson, NJ 07501
Phone: 973-321-1223

November 12, 2010
Henry Grimes' Sublime Communication
Henry Grimes, violin & acoustic bass
Andrew Lamb, tenor sax & flutes
Newman Taylor Baker, drums
at
The Stone
2nd St. and Avenue C
NYC 10009
www.thestonenyc.com

November 13, 2010 9 pm
Music and Dance New and Old Style
Seiji "Yuki" Yukimoto, trumpet, bamboo flute
Mickey, dance
Seiji, dance

Roy Campbell, cornet, etc.
Gerry Eastman, guitar
Hilliard Greene, bass
Newman Taylor Baker, drums

3 Japanese with 4 New Yorkers

Williamsburgh Music Center
367 Bedford Ave. @S. 5th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718 384-1654
www.wmcjazz.org

November 14, 2010 2 pm
Nioka Workman Power Trio
Nioka Workman on cello,
Hui Cox, 7-string guitar
Newman Baker, drums
at
Theaterlab
137 W 14th St.,
NYC 10011
www.niokakworkman.com

November 18, 2010 8 pm
Newman Taylor Baker’s Singin’ Drums
Drum-Suite-Life CD Release Party
at
The Stone
2nd St. and Avenue C
NYC 10009
917 865-5629
www.thestonenyc.com

NEWMAN TAYLOR BAKER QUARTET at Goddard Riverside Community Center

2008-11-24T12:16:00.003-05:00

***NEWMAN TAYLOR BAKER QUARTET***

Featuring
Joe Ford, alto & soprano saxophones
Gerry Eastman, bass
Mamiko Watanabe, piano
Newman Taylor Baker, drums

December 10, 2008
7:00 pm

Free JAZZ Concert

presented by

Goddard Riverside Community Center
593 Columbus Avenue (at W. 88th St.) NYC
(212) 873-6600

by subway: B/C or 1 to 86th Street

To assure seating:
Please pick up a ticket in advance.
Tickets available starting December 4.

2008-08-31T17:48:00.003-04:00

Billy Bang Sextet at MoMA July 13, 2008
Andrew Bemkey - piano; Billy Bang - violin; James Zollar - trumpet;
James Spaulding - flute; Todd Nicholson - bass; Newman Taylor Baker - drums.

2008-08-31T17:32:00.002-04:00

Billy Bang Quartet on West Coast Tour
featuring
Billy Bang, violin
Andrew Bemkey, piano
Todd Nicholson, bass
Newman Taylor Baker, drums

The band will be playing music from the recent cds Vietnam, The Aftermath; Vietnam, Reflections; and a new composition, Prayer For Peace, which was premiered July 13, 2008 at the Museum of Modern Art New York, NY in the Sculpture Garden Summer Music series.

“The Billy Bang Quartet plays with the acuity, diligence, bravura, sensibility and incomparable energy which characteristics Bang himself possesses. This band has groove, melody, compassion. It’s got Bang.”

“When Billy Bang plays his instrument, he isn’t playing with his mind... he connects the bow and the strings of the violin with emotion and relentless drive.”

“Todd Nicholson manages his instrument as if he were connected to it.Nicholson digs hard. The resonance of the strings is large, open and never murky.”

“Andrew Bemkey's fingers can fly in the openness that he carves out, but his reverence to his bandmates is evident. Bemkey’s contribution to the quartet is indispensable.”

“Newman Taylor Baker exudes nothing but sensitivity. a fresh, un-heavy sound on the drum set, his touch is in stunning proportion to what the other band members are doing.”

October 17
Yardbird Suite
Edmonton, Canada
http://www.yardbirdsuite.com/

October 18
Presented by the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society
People who present the Vancouver Jazz Festival
Vancouver, Canada
http://www.coastaljazz.ca/

October 19
Earshot Jazz Festival
Seattle, WA
http://www.earshot.org/

October 21
Yoshi's
San Francisco, CA
http://sf.yoshis.com/sf/jazzclub

Newman Taylor Baker: July 2007 Gigs

2007-07-03T23:41:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

This July, I will perform Singin’ Drums, at the Williamsburg Music Center.

This will be my first concert of my music for solo drum set since my life changing experience one year ago.

I would love to have your presence at the performance, and share my new view.

I will also be performing in a number of other gigs. Hope to see you at one of them.

In peace,
Newman

Saturday, July 21, 2007, 9 & 10:30 pm
NTB/SINGIN’ DRUMS: SAME EYES/NEW VIEW
Williamsburg Music Center
367 Bedford Avenue at South 5th Street, Brooklyn
(718)384-1654

Sunday, JULY 8, 5 pm
Gerry Eastman Quintet
International African Arts Festival
Commodore Park at Brooklyn Navy Yard
Navy Street (btwn Park and Flushing Avenues)
Brooklyn

Tuesday, JULY 10, 9 pm
Elektra Kurtis & Ensemble Elektra
The Cornelia Street Café
29 Cornelia Street, New York City
(212) 989-9319

Tuesday, JULY 17, 12:30 – 2 pm
Henry Grimes Quartet
Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits
Summer on the Plaza
International Center of Photography
1114 Sixth Avenue at 43rd Street, New York City
(212) 857-0001

Friday, JULY 20, 7pm & 8:30pm
Gerry Eastman Quintet
Medgar Evers College
1650 Bedford Avenue (Ebbets Field Houses) Brooklyn

Music & Dance in December 06

2006-12-01T13:08:00.000-05:00

Dec. 2 Saturday, 9pm-12pm
Bob Stewart Trio with Bob Stewart, tuba; Carlton Holmes, piano; Newman Taylor Baker, drums
Night & Day230 5th Avenue(@President St.)Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY 11215Tel: 718 399-2161
Dec. 6 Wednesday 7:30 pm
Avodah Dance EnsembleWinter ConcertHebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR)1 West 4th Street, between Broadway and Mercer$12; $8 seniors and students
Dec. 13 Wednesday, 7:30pm & 9:15pm
Sameer Ramchandran Trio with Sameer Ramchandran, piano; Dominic Duval, bass; Newman Taylor Baker, drums
KitanoPark Ave.@37th St.New York, NY
No Cover $10 minimum/set2 Sets 7:30pm and 9:15pm
Dec. 16 Saturday, 8pm
Henry Grimes Trio with Henry Grimes, bass; Andrew Lamb, tenor sax & flute; Newman Taylor Baker, drums
Clemente Soto Velez Cultural CenterSEA Theater 2nd floor107 Suffolk Street (bet. Rivington and Delancey Sts.)New York, NY 10002
F to Delancey Street or J, M, Z to Essex StreetTickets: $10 per set / $7 students and seniors / $15 both setsAvailable at the doorMore Info: http://www.visionfestival.org or 212.696.6681
Dec. 21 Thursday, 8pm
Ivo Perelman's Introspection with Ivo Perelman, tenor sax; Rosie Hertlein, violin & voice; Dominic Duval, bass; Newman Taylor Baker, drums
The StoneNw corner of Ave C & 2nd St.New York, NY 10009 $10 per set

NTB at Yoshi's Oakland, CA '06

2006-09-18T03:02:00.000-04:00

Body Orchestra At Families First

2006-02-12T14:28:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                         January 24, 2006For more info and registration, contact:                    Linda Blyer, Executive Director

Noted Musician Newman Taylor Baker at Families First This March

Families First Brooklyn, Inc. invites award-winning drummer and teaching artist Newman Taylor Baker to lead his new class, Body Orchestra:  A Music Making Workshop for Families, on Thursday, March 9, 2006, at 3:30 p.m.  The program is for children of all ages, parents and caregivers. It will take place at Families First, 250 Baltic Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Admission is $5.00 per participant;  pre-registration by March 2nd is preferred. Call or e-mail using info above.  This class is presented with Down the Street Productions.

“Mr. Baker is gifted at getting children and adults to be ‘kids’together in the discovery of music,” says Linda Blyer, Executive Director at Families First. Body Orchestra, Mr. Baker’s new family music workshop builds on the idea that wherever you are you always have what you need to make music. He shares childhood games and activities that use hands, feet and other parts of the body.  Mr. Baker leads games in voice and movement. Everyone, no matter the age, is encouraged to participate equally. They  experience elements of music like pulse, meter, rhythm, form and teamwork...becoming a body orchestra. All this without the need for musical instruments, electronic devices, recorded and notated music. Mr. Baker hopes participants leave with a deepened awareness of the drummer within and the shared joy in making music together. The above photograph is from Mr. Baker’s Body Orchestra at the Brooklyn Public Library Windsor Terrace Branch this January.

Newman Taylor Baker started playing drums at age two at Virginia State University, an African - American campus in Petersburg, Virginia. Over the past forty years, Mr. Baker has performed music of all kinds around the world with such artists/groups as the Billy Harper Quintet, the Henry Threadgill Sextett, Leroy Jenkins, Diedre Murray, Lawrence “Butch” Morris, Henry Grimes, Sam Rivers, Billy Bang, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Kenny Baron, Brian Groder and Judy  Silvano. He was awarded a NYFA Fellowship in Music Composition for his solo drum set project, Singin' Drums. Mr. Baker trains professional dancers in the world of music and brings this technique to children and adults in school settings, community groups, and teacher training sessions. He teaches at Rutgers University in Newark and in urban schools through Young Audiences/New York, Arts Horizons, Arts Genesis, Friends of the Arts and Jazz Mobile. Newman Taylor Baker is on the Williamsburgh Music Center Board of Directors .

Families First Brooklyn, Inc. is a not-for-profit, membership-supported, parenting center that provides programs for new parents and their young children. It offers classes for babies, toddlers and school children; workshops for parents and caregivers; special interest, weekly discussions; staff-led new mother discussions; drop-in services, a newsletter and special events. Families First Brooklyn provides a toy area, a library, an art/music room and plenty of safe play space for children.  Located in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, it is near the F and G trains or the B75 bus. Parking is available.

# # #

NTB at Jazz at Lincoln Center

2005-11-01T20:41:00.000-05:00

GARTH FAGAN DANCE with THE BILLY BANG SEXTET
Billy Bang – Violin, composer; Ted Daniel – Trumpet; James Spaulding – Alto Saxophone; John Hicks – Piano; Curtis Lundy – Bass; Newman Taylor Baker - Drums

November 10-13, 2005
Thurs/Fri/Sat eve: 8:00 PM, Sat/Sun mat: 2:00 PM
2 programs of incomparable gems, featuring a world premiere set to Vietnam: The Aftermath by virtuoso jazz violinist Billy Bang & his sextet.
Rose Theater, Frederick P. Rose Hall
Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Broadway at 60th Street, NYC
For tickets: Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office
Broadway at 60th Street Ground floor
Mon.-Sat: 10 am – 8:30pm
CenterCharge 212.721.6500 or www.jalc.org

NTB Biography

2005-10-10T03:05:00.000-04:00

<>
Newman Taylor Baker
Musician, Composer, Teaching Artist <>
P.O. Box 20657
New York, NY 10009
(212) 614-0781 T /F
ntbsd@hotmail.com

Always searching and painting layers on this refined mosaic.
Randy McElligott, Jazz at a Glance Reviews

Newman Taylor Baker is a master musician, composer and interpreter, at home as a soloist in performance of his own projects, as a peer in numerous outstanding musical ensembles, as a key player in new opera and musical theater, as a longtime collaborator with choreographers, as an educator in universities, public schools, prisons and community centers and as a musical ambassador crossing borders of understanding in this country and abroad for years. He started at age four, was educated by the finest African American musicians and thinkers on a noted Black campus of the 1950s where his parents taught, and continued his training in clubs, studios and with philharmonic orchestras. From Petersburg, Virginia to New York City via Philadelphia, from the Far East to Africa via Europe, Newman Taylor Baker is a like a magician whose sticks and brushes conjure the new, the smart and the beautiful in that phenomenon we call music.

Baker is a longtime collaborator with JoAnne Tucker, Founding Director of the Avodah Dance Ensemble. In Spring 2005, the company premiered, Mayim, A Ritual of Transformation a work featuring his composition and choreography by Julie K. Gayer. Other program highlights included Newman’s Blanket, Balancing Act, and The Forgiveness Project with music and live performance by Baker.

For years, he has also collaborated and performed with Mickey Davidson, founding choreographer of Mickey D. and Friends Dance Company. He is the musical director the company’s project, Dance, Rhythm, Dance.

Newman Taylor Baker is NYFA Fellow in Music Composition for his project, Singin’ Drums,which was presented at The Stone New York, NY September 30, 2005. He has performed this project solo, in concert with other percussionists and as part of numerous musical ensembles. His project, Celebration of the Drum Set: Give the Drummer Some (Warwick Summer Arts Festival, Warwick, NY), featured three esteemed percussionists in solo and group setting. For St. Andrew and Matthew Church, Wilmington, DE, Baker performed the Congolese Missa Luba. He was featured in the New York premiere of Three Willies, with music by Leroy Jenkins and libretto by Homer Jackson. In Dialogue for 2000: A Duet for Drum Set, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Baker set his Singin’ Drums project in a duo setting. He performed in the New York run of the Obie award-winning Running Man, with music by Diedre Murray and text by Cornelius Eady, and the European tour of Walcott Songs, with music by Henry Threadgill and text by Derek Walcott. These are just some of the many innovative musical projects for the stage in which Baker has been a vital force.

Listen to the sparks…the effortless swing…with a single ping on a cymbal,
he moves the music into a groove that’s wide enough for a listener to lie down inside it.
Richard Sheinin, Liner notes for If our hearts could only see, Billy Harper (DIW)

Baker has toured over 40 countries of the world performing with the Billy Harper Quintet, the Henry Threadgill Sextett, Henry Grimes, Sam Rivers, Billy Bang, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Kenny Baron, Kevin Eubanks, the Delaware Symphony, the Richmond Symphony, Reggie Workman, Leroy Jenkins, Jeanne Lee, Lou Donaldson, James Moody, Abdullah Ibrahim, and others.

He trains professional dancers in the world of music and brings this technique to children and adults in school settings, community groups, and teacher training sessions. Using rhythm and percussion activities to develop participants' listening skills and musical awareness, Baker encourages self-expression, self-confidence and teamwork. You can attend his lectures at Rutgers University in Newark, join the hundreds of New York City youth who participate each year in his workshops organized by Young Audiences/New York, Arts Horizons, Arts Genesis, Friends of the Arts and Jazz Mobile, or study with him privately. When not teaching or performing, Baker lends his expertise to the Williamsburgh Music Center Board.

Baker earned an MM in Education from East Carolina University and a BS in Music Education from Virginia State University. He studied composition and percussion with Dr. Undine S. Moore, Dr. F. Nathaniel Gatlin and Dr. Thomas C. Bridge, Virginia State University; Fred Begun, Solo Timpanist, National Symphony Orchestra; Harold Jones, East Carolina University; and Saul Goodman, Solo Timpanist, New York Philharmonic, among others.

His recent CD credits include: Judi Silvano, Let Yourself Go (Zoho); Patrick Brennan, The Drum Is Honor Enough (CIMP) and Rapt Circle (Cadence Jazz); Francesca Tanksley, Journey (DreamCaller); Benny Powell, The Gift Of Love (Faith); Carl Grubbs, Stepping Around The Giant (CIMP); Vision Festival, Visionfest Visionlive (Thirsty Ear); Billy Harper, Soul of an Angel (Metropolitan).

Another of [Max] Roach's heirs, Gene Santoro, The Daily News

Newman Taylor Baker uses Cappella Sticks.

Singin' Drums at The Stone

2005-10-08T05:34:00.000-04:00

Newman Taylor Baker
Singin' Drums

There was a great audience for Singin' Drums performance at The Stone, in NYC, on September 30, 2005. They were attentive, supportive, and very warm expressing their appreciation.

Photo by Julie Kessler