Duck Baker: Confabulations

  In their co-written liner notes for 1979's Under The Volcano, an album of guitar duets by Stefan Grossman and John Renbourn, Ed Denson and Dan Forte declared that finger-picking guitarist Duck Baker had “come to be considered one of the more astounding musicians on the scene.” He’s still pretty astounding, while the scene he inhabits has widened considerably, encompassing solo renditions of compositions by Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols, the free jazz solos of Everything That Rises Converges (2009), duets with Jamie Findlay (2001), a trio with clarinetist Alex Ward and bassist Joe Williamson (succeeded by John Edwards), and much more. His latest collection is Confabulations, a sampling of collaborations, mostly recorded in the 2000s, with two tracks realized in Mark Dresser’s studio in 1994. The online Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “confabulate” in three ways. It means “to talk informally” or “to hold a discussion” or “to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication.” Just the right word for a totally improvised conversation, where there’s nothing to remember and all of the gaps need to be filled in. As I started to absorb these Confabulations, each track was my favorite as it unfolded, only to be replaced by the next selection. Which is how it should be, I suppose, for instant compositions that might exist only for the moment unless there’s someone near with a recording device. How fortunate we are to have something like Indie Pen Dance, the exuberant duet with the late Derek Bailey at the guitarist’s home in 2002, or the sparkling interplay of East River Delta Blues with the late trombonist Roswell Rudd, a master of the outside blues, to listen to again and again. Another highlight is The Missing Chandler, a 2009 live encounter with tenor saxophonist John Butcher, as Baker’s imperturbable lyricism meets Butcher’s typically astringent and carefully nuanced phrasing. Another duo with Rudd, from the same New York show in 2002, ends the hour with a free improvisation based on Taps. As Baker writes in his chatty liner notes, “Rudd always seemed to throw in a few wrinkles” when they played together. “It sure put juice into things!” There’s plenty of juice in these carefully culled and artfully sequenced improvisations. Highly recommended. 

ESP-Disk' ESP5065; Duck Baker (g) with ... Imp Romp 2 (Michael Moore, as; 10/10/08)/ Shenandoah (Mark Dresser, b; 1994)/ Indie Pen Dance (Derek Bailey, g; 7/4/02)/ East River Delta Blues (Roswell Rudd, tbn; 1/9/02)/ Ode to Jo (Alex Ward, cl, & Joe Williamson, b; 9/12/10)/ Duo for 225 Strings (Steve Beresford, p; 9/18/09)/ The Missing Chandler (John Butcher, ts; 9/19/09)/ Tourbillion Air (Alex Ward, cl, John Edwards, b, & Steve Noble, d; 3/7/17)/ Pope Slark (Mark Dresser, b; 1994)/ Signing Off (Roswell Rudd, tbn; 1/9/02); 59:26. www.espdisk.com