GINGER BAKER AND FRIENDS “LIVE AT THE JAZZ CAFE” CD/DVD FINALLY OUT

In August 2009, legendary rock drummer Ginger Baker (of Graham Bond Organisation, Cream, Blind faith, Airforce, Baker-Gurvitz Army et al) miraculously reached his 70th Birthday. In October he also published his long awaited autobiography ‘Hellraiser’ (pub: John Blake), a book that for various reasons has taken him over twenty-years to complete. To coincide with these two momentous events a ‘gig with special friends’ was held at London’s Jazz Cafe on 4th November 2009. This CD & DVD commemorates this historic & prestigious event & invites you to share the music & atmosphere of the venue. Ginger demonstrates his musical fluidity & prowess with a range of numbers spanning the back catalogue of his phenomenal career. He is helped in this by guitarist/singer Chris Goss (Masters of Reality), bassist extraordinaire Jonas Helborg, percussionist Dodoo Abass, world renowned saxophonist Peter King, along with Ginger’s daughter Leda Baker (Rubella Ballet/various) on guitar/backing vocals. For the last two numbers Ginger is joined by his ‘surprise’ guest & very ‘special’ friend Steve Winwood in a moving reconciliation that sees them play two show-stopping Blind Faith numbers and re winds time to when they last played together in Ginger Bakers Airforce in 1970.

UNFORTUNATELY, those two last numbers are not on the dvd and cd!!!!!! Winwood obviously declined to have his appearance on this release. Great shame and makes a very short concert even shorter.

Buy your copy here if you live in Europe.
Buy your copy here if you live in the USA.

GINGER BAKER OFFICIAL BOOTLEG SERIES DUE VIA VOICEPRINT

Ginger Baker’s Airforce
Live in Offenbach, Germany 1970

Disc 1
1. 12 Gates In The City 1. I Got The Answer 2. What A Day 2. Free Kings 3. Aiko Biae 3. Don’t Care 4. Early In The Morning 5. Sunshine of Your Life 6. Toady 7. Let Me Ride

Disc 2
1. 12 Gates of the City 2. What A Day It’s Been 3. Aiko Biaye 4. Do What You Like

Ginger Baker is probably best known as the drummer with British rock band Cream and also Blind Faith. Despite being hailed as The Greatest Rock Drummer he actually dislikes the title preferring to proclaim himself a “jazz drummer”.

Following his tenure with a number of jazz bands in the late fifties and early sixties his career really began when he joined the Graham Bond Organisation. From here he formed Cream along with fellow Bond Organisation bassist Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton guitarist with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Cream were an instant hit particularly in America were they sealed their reputation with extensive touring and the release of the albums Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire. Following the split with Cream Ginger formed Blind Faith along with Eric Clapton Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. Once again the band enjoyed massive success in America and played one massively attended open air gig in London’s Hyde Park in June 1969. Following this gig the band released their only studio album the self titled Blind Faith.

Ginger’s next musical stop was his own band Ginger Baker’s Airforce who released two albums of part studio part live recordings. This short-lived band broke up in late 1970 and Ginger then went to briefly live in Africa where in Nigeria he established his own recording studios in Lagos whilst also forming the band Salt a band which managed to fuse jazz with African rhythms. A return to the UK in the mid seventies saw Ginger join forces with the Gurvitz brothers late of Three Man Army and Gun in the Baker Gurvitz Army. Releasing a number of albums with this band Ginger re established his rock career.

Further collaborations with Hawkwind, The Masters of Reality and a reunion with former Cream band mate Jack Bruce in Baker Bruce and Moore were to keep Ginger’s name in the forefront of rock before Cream reunited in May 2005 for a successful string of dates in London at the Royal Albert Hall and New York at Madison Square Garden. Ginger has also recorded a number of well received jazz albums with his own jazz trio.

Apart from the two official Airforce releases live recordings of Ginger Baker’s Airforce are extremely rare and this recording is no different. This is an audience recording of Airforce in Offenbach Germany on December the 18th 1970. This performance captures the second incarnation of Airforce following the departure of Steve Winwood and Chris Wood who had returned to Traffic by this time. It is however a lively performance and is actually one of the final Airforce performances before the band split and as such is highly collectable and historic. The performance features amongst others the Cream track Sunshine Of Your Love and Ginger’s contribution to the Blind Faith album Do What You Like alongside tracks from the second Airforce album including We Free Kings, Let Me Ride, Toady and 12 Gates Of The City.

Baker Gurvitz Army
Live in Milan 76

Disc 1
1. Hearts on Fire 2. People 3. Night People 4. White Room 5. Mystery 6. Thirsty For The Blues 7. Neon Lights 8. Inside of Me 9. Memory Lane 10. Drum Solo 11. Sunshine Of Your Love 12. Time 13. Smokestack Lightning 14. Hearts on Fire (reprise)

The Baker Gurvitz Army came into existence when former Gun and Three man Army members Paul and Adrian Gurvitz joined forces with legendary drummer Ginger Baker in 1974. The Baker Gurvitz Army was the first real musical project for Ginger Baker since the short-lived band Salt in 1972 and Ginger Baker’s Airforce some two years prior to that. The band released their first album the self titled Baker Gurvitz Army in late 1974 and the album sold well enough to break in to the American charts. The band went on to record two further studio albums including Elysian Encounter in 1975 and Hearts On Fire in 1976.The band also featured vocalist Snips who had previously been with British band Sharks and keyboardist Peter Lemer formerly of Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia and Seventh Wave

This live recording which forms part of the Official Ginger Baker Bootleg Series was recorded in Milan on the 23rd of March 1976 during the tour to promote what would turn out to be the bands final studio album Hearts On Fire. The set list at this time reflecting the desire to promote the album included four tracks from the album including Hearts On Fire, Night People, Thirsty For The Blues and neon Lights. There are also two tracks from Elysian Encounter (People and Time) and two from the bands self titled debut (Inside Of me and Memory Lane) Interestingly enough at this point in the bands career they elected to include two Cream songs in the set and both Sunshine Of Your Love and White Room are also included here.

Ginger Baker and Salt
Live in Munich, Germany 1972

Disc 1
1. Improvisation No. 1 2. Improvisation No. 2

Following his tenure with a number of jazz bands in the late fifties and early sixties his career really began when he joined the Graham Bond Organisation. From here he formed Cream along with fellow Bond Organisation bassist Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton guitarist with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Cream were an instant hit particularly in America were they sealed their reputation with extensive touring and the release of the albums Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire. Following the split with Cream Ginger formed Blind Faith along with Eric Clapton Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. Once again the band enjoyed massive success in America and played one massively attended open air gig in London’s Hyde Park in June 1969. Following this gig the band released their only studio album the self titled Blind Faith.

Ginger’s next musical stop was his own band Ginger Baker’s Airforce who released two albums of part studio part live recordings. This short-lived band broke up in late 1970 and Ginger then went to briefly live in Africa where in Nigeria he established his own recording studios in Lagos whilst also forming the band Salt a band which managed to fuse jazz with African rhythms. A return to the UK in the mid seventies saw Ginger join forces with the Gurvitz brothers late of Three Man Army and Gun in the Baker Gurvitz Army. Releasing a number of albums with this band Ginger re established his rock career.

Further collaborations with Hawkwind, The Masters of Reality and a reunion with former Cream band mate Jack Bruce in Baker Bruce and Moore were to keep Ginger’s name in the forefront of rock before Cream reunited in May 2005 for a successful string of dates in London at the Royal Albert Hall and New York at Madison Square Garden. Ginger has also recorded a number of well received jazz albums with his own jazz trio.

This recording dates from a concert performance in Munich in 1972 and was the first musical outing in Europe for Ginger alongside Salt since Ginger Baker’s Airforce some two years previously. The show was billed as Ginger Baker and Salt “Africa Now” Invites Drum Battle. The show was filmed for German television and broadcast shortly after and repeated a year later in 1973. The line up for this performance was Ginger Baker : drums, Steve Gregory: tenor sax, flute, Bud Beadle: saxes, Tunde Koboje: bass, Berkley Jones: guitar, Laolu Akins: african drums, Kehinde Lijadu: vocals, Taiwo Lijadu: vocals, and special guest: Art Blakey: drums.

The recordings featured in the Official Ginger Baker Bootleg Series are sure to become collector’s items and are all sanctioned by Ginger Baker.

GINGER BAKER AND VERY SPECIAL GUESTS PLAY THE JAZZ CAFE IN LONDON

The legendary Ginger Baker takes to the stage at the Jazz Café in London on Wednesday, 4th November with some very special guests. The world’s greatest drummer will be joined by names from his stellar career for a one-off show that promises to be truly unforgettable. Tickets are £60.

His autobiography is due for publication around the same time.

GINGER BAKER PUBLISHES BIOGRAPHY

Peter ‘Ginger’ Baker is a legend. A pioneering drummer who has transcended genres, he did much to popularise world music with his fierce passion for the rhythms of Africa. He is that rare thing, a critically-acclaimed musician who has enjoyed global success with not one but several supergroups to his name, including Cream and Blind Faith. He has also lived a life that has been more rock’n'roll than most. Ginger tells his story for the first time and without any self-censorship. It’s an often harrowing, but honest journey from his humble beginnings in war-torn south London to his adopted home in South Africa’s beautiful Western Cape – complete with polo club. Along the way he tells of his life-long love of jazz, how he discovered the drums and African music for himself, life on the road and he confesses to the heroin use that should have killed him in his colourful 1960s’ prime, working and playing with the biggest names of the time. In the 1970s, he came up with a trans-Saharan trucking scheme, was a successful rally driver and built an ill-fated recording studio. He also discovered a consuming passion for playing polo. He talks candidly of the loss and recovery of his fortune, his three marriages, Cream’s induction into the rock’n'roll hall of fame in 1993, their subsequent successful reunion in 2005 and his hopes for the future.

Ginger Baker was born in Lewisham, London in 1939 and brought up along with his sister and cousin by his mother and aunt. After forging his reputation on the London jazz scene, he found phenomenal success by forming Cream with Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton in 1966. Ginger lives in South Africa, where he is an avid correspondent to the letters pages of various polo publications.

Published by John Blake Publishing Ltd

Due 5 October 2009