Contra Costa Dance, by Duck Baker

Contra Costa Dance

by Duck Baker

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Afro-Zen Allstars Amazing performances of some of Duck's finest compositions. An absolute must-have.

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	1.	Putney Bridge 03:59
	2.	Keep It Under Your Heart 03:47
	3.	Contra Costa Dance 03:24
	4.	First Frost 03:53
	5.	Highland Spring 02:54
	6.	The Clear Blue Sky 03:42
	7.	Dance Me Outside 03:07
	8.	Deidre 02:55
	9.	Waltz With Mary's Smile 04:34
	10.	Not the First Time 04:17
	11.	Holding Pattern 03:47
	12.	The Flowers of Belfast 05:12

about

My first record deal was with Kicking Mule, a specialised acoustic guitar label that released five Duck Baker LPs between 1976 and 1980. But eventually the label changed direction and I did no recording for them after I finished The Kid On The Mountain in 1980. By that time, my primary focus had shifted from arranging traditional tunes to writing original pieces like those included on The Art Of Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar (1979). By mid-1982 I was not only thinking in terms of finding another label but dealing with a painful relationship breakup and relocating from London, where I had been based for several years. I spent that summer in Berkeley trying unsuccessfully to make sense of things before returning to Europe in the fall, and since my friend Dix Bruce knew that I was looking for a label, he helped me make make demo recordings of the original tunes I wanted to record. I sent a selection around to a a few labels, but to no avail; most of the new acoustic guitar records being made at that point featured New Age music, and I just didn’t fit the program. I recall thinking that the repeated phrases in pieces like “Putney Bridge” and the title track might appeal to these people, but maybe time signatures like 5/4 and 5/8 put them off. Or maybe it was the jazz influence, though “Putney Bridge” was also a clear nod to folk guitarist Bert Jansch, who lived just down the road form me in Fulham but often crossed the bridge to get to his preferred pubs in those days.

It wasn’t until the 1990s that the German label Acoustic Music released four CDs mainly devoted to my own compositions, and most of the pieces on the present collection were included. Meanwhile the 1982 demo recordings had been forgotten, and were sitting in a box in Dix Bruce’s garage until he started going through things in early 2021. When I heard the recordings again, I liked the edgy quality in the playing and thought that many of these demo recordings were stronger than the later studio versions. There are also three tunes that I never did rerecord: the ragtime knuckle-buster “Highland Springs”, the quasi-modal “Dance Me Outside”, and the impressionistic “Deirdre”, named for the girl of Irish legend who was just too pretty for her own good. What later studio recordings would have, of course, was better sound quality, and the fidelity of these demos was further compromised by sitting in storage for so long.

Despite the imperfect audio, I felt that the music I was trying so hard to get out there in 1982 was still worth sharing, and when Mark Wastell at Confront heard the recordings, he agreed. So in the end, I did manage to find a label for the record I wanted to make after The Kid On The Mountain. It took 40 years, but here it is.

(Duck Baker, Reading, Berks, March, 2022)

credits

released September 4, 2022

Previously unissued recordings engineered by Dix Bruce at his home studio, Oakland, CA, 9 June, 18 July & 11 August 1982.

Mastered by Joe Lizzi, van Alst Sound, NY

All tracks composed by Duck Baker, except for “Highland Springs”, by Duck Baker and Lynn Abbott.

For transcriptions of the tunes please visit duckbaker.com

Photography by Mary Cerny
Design by Matthew Brandi
Produced by Mark Wastell

"Even with more than 30 solo albums to his credit, Contra Costa Dance shows Duck Baker, an esteemed fingerstyle guitarist, at his eclectic best. All original compositions, the twelve pieces included here have a broad range, from old-timey to Celtic-influenced to avant-garde. He opens with atmospheric "Putney Bridge," segues to "Keep It Under Your Heart," with lightning fast slides and pull-offs, and then shifts yet again with the title track, a mesmerizing fast-paced modern jazz piece. Other songs have a very improvisational feel, such as "First Frost," "The Clear Blue Sky," and "Waltz with Mary's Smile." Baker's sound is prickly and metallic, conveying a raw authenticity, and he plays with verve, impeccable timing, and assurance. "Dance Me Outside" with its melding of Celtic and jazz, and "Holding Pattern," with outrageous flurries of fast picking, are two of many pieces that showcase his virtuosic technique. Two of the most beautiful pieces are "Deirdre" with its complex, mournful melody and counterpoint, and "The Flowers of Belfast." Baker's compositions cross styles and genres to make something arresting and new. Contra Costa Dance is a standout: ambitious, assured, and essential.' (Céline Keating, Minor 7th)

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