Ginger Baker RIP

[spiritofmusic]

Well, this is sad, but not wholly unexpected. The guy was such an inspiration, and a true individual. And in these days of identikit personalities and faux rebels, this guy was the real deal.

One of the first proper superstar rock drummers along w Keith Moon and John Bonham, after decades of jazz drummers being king.
As an on/off/(and occasionally on again) drummer myself, the "Toad" drum solo from Cream "Wheels Of Fire" lp was a life changing experience.

And to swap the limelight of Cream, Blind Faith and Baker Gurvitz Army for the less publicised but hugely personal collaborations w African musicians incl Fela Kuti, and the fantastic match ups w jazz musicians like Bill Frissell, demonstated a burning desire to keep the art real.

And such a calm, considered guy to boot, never prone to swearing Lol.

Ginger, your kind will never be seen or heard again. I hope you're torturing the eardrums of sensitive listeners in the afterlife.

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

eal.

And such a calm, considered guy to boot, never prone to swearing Lol.

.

Another music legend gone R.I.P. buddy
I chuckled on that line above.

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/ginger-baker-cream-drummer-dead

 

[spiritofmusic]

Another music legend gone R.I.P. buddy
I chuckled on that line above.

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/ginger-baker-cream-drummer-dead

Check the end of that trailer - everyone everywhere with a nose, can now sleep more soundly at night Lol.

 

[cjfrbw]

Blind Faith one of my go-to's for vinyl, never get tired of it. I have many GB records, all of them great to listen to, but he must have kept a couple of law firms on permanent retainer.

 

[spiritofmusic]

"Falling Off The Roof" w Bill Frissell is a favourite later period recording. "African Force" right up there too.

The guy looked liked he'd lived three lifetimes by the time he got to Cream.

And he is from the generation where every notable drummer had style and sound of their own.

Ginger must have looked at the health and safety society and wondered what it was all about.

Otoh, I think he looked for, and found, trouble anywhere he went. Not many compatriots are gonna toast his character tonight. But the art is pretty compelling, and in the end, that was all that mattered. We're not remembering Buddy Rich ever winning Human Being Of The Year either Lol.

 

[asiufy]

And he is from the generation where every notable drummer had style and sound of their own.

This is what I find most disturbing about drummers these days. Musicians in general actually. They just don't stand up among others. They're all too homogenuous.

This is a good article/introduction to the man's music:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/...ial-songs-cream-blind-faith-fela-kuti-890696/

I particularly like the Fela Kuti track. Ginger and Tony Allen, just fantastic.

 

[NorthStar]

R.I.P.

 

[spiritofmusic]

This is what I find most disturbing about drummers these days. Musicians in general actually. They just don't stand up among others. They're all too homogenuous.

This is a good article/introduction to the man's music:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/...ial-songs-cream-blind-faith-fela-kuti-890696/

I particularly like the Fela Kuti track. Ginger and Tony Allen, just fantastic.

Alex, don't get me started. It's almost as if when tech, hardware and recording techniques "improved", drumming sounds, and drummers, went backwards.

Ginger certainly belongs in that pantheon of drumming legends that kept the art pure. He was putting as much on the line in his later collaborations as he did in his pomp w Cream.

With the focus on songwriting, arrangements and creative tension in the band, you can hear the arrow from Cream to The Police a decade later.

Very few drummers got the zone btwn jazz and rock right. Bill Bruford was one. Ginger certainly another.

Too bad so many of his personal and business decisions were so poor. He didn't so much burn bridges as blow them up w as much excess gelignite as possible.

 

[NorthStar]

Big Tribute: https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/m...hitesnake-others-pay-tribute-to-ginger-baker/

 

[marty]

I saw Ginger Baker perform Toad in November 1968 at the famous Cream farewell concert in Madison Square Garden in NYC. I think half the audience was convinced he was going to drop dead on stage right then and there. I have no idea how high he was, but his solo was not from this planet. Quite a memory.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Marty, a fellow drummer said he was inspired by Ginger's drumming, but not by him as a person. And it was very sad to see in the documentary how he royally pi$$ed off everyone around him, leading to his always being effectively on the run. The drugs cannot have helped.

Playing music is such an addictive pursuit, it's maybe not surprising that one's character will end up over indulging.