Pages

Sunday, October 09, 2022

Remembering Ginger Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019)

Cream, 1968: Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker - WireImage



“He was so unique and had such a distinctive personality,” Stewart Copeland of the Police said in 2013. “Nobody else followed in his footsteps. Everybody tried to be John Bonham and copy his licks, but it’s rare that you hear anybody doing the Ginger Baker thing.”


Ralph Salmins: “Ginger had the magic ingredient that makes a drummer truly great: something very hard to quantify. Sheer wildness and mad abandon combined with eccentricity made him an incredibly exciting musician behind the drums and he was someone who could truly set a group on fire. Ginger’s deep love and connection with African music gave him the ability to cross stylistic boundaries and unite musicians in the worlds of jazz and rock.”


“I used to be mean – I’d deliberately mess up recording sessions with my temper and go mad at the slightest thing. Then one day some friends took me to one side and pointed out that it might be wiser if I calmed down. I respected them enough to listen – and not throw anything.” Ginger Baker


Ginger Baker:  


“Oh for god’s sake, I’ve never played rock. Cream was two jazz players and a blues guitarist playing improvised music. We never played the same thing two nights running… It was jazz.”


 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment