Edythe Baker
Edythe Baker (born August 25, 1899 in Girard , Kansas , † August 15, 1971 in Orange County , California ) was an American jazz pianist of early jazz and dancer , who is mainly remembered for her piano roles .
Life
After studying piano in Kansas City in 1919, Baker came to New York City , where she performed as a pianist in the vaudeville sector, then from 1920 onwards over the next six years she did a number of piano roles with ragtimes , blues and contemporary pop music (such as Yes Sir, That's My Baby or Sweet Man ) for the Aeolian Company . From 1920 she also appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies and from 1922 worked as a pianist and dancer in other pieces on Broadway .
In 1927 Baker moved to England, where she appeared in a revue with songs by Richard Rodgers and Cole Porter ; there she recorded her new hit titles like My Heart Stood Still on record for Columbia . In 1928 she married Gerard D'Erlanger, the son of a banker, with whom she traveled around the world before the divorce occurred in 1934. In 1931 she recorded 16 tracks for Decca Records ; further recordings were made in 1933. In the next few years she made several headlines in the press because she was allegedly courted by several members of the royal family. In 1945 she returned to New York, where she worked as a piano teacher. She spent her twilight years in Southern California.
The good technique and Baker's sense of swing ensured that some of the piano rolls were re-released on record (Folkways LP, 1983). She also composed titles such as Dreaming Blues (1920) herself .
Discographic notes
- Piano Roll Artistry of Edythe Baker and Other Women
Lexigraphic entries
- Paul Du Noyer: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing 2003; ISBN 1-904041-96-5 .
Web links
- Edythe Baker at Allmusic (English)
- Biography (Bill Edwards )
- Portrait (Bob Pye) AMICA, 8 (10) October 1971 (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ In various sources there are different dates, for example August 3, 1895 as the birthday and years of death as in 1965 and 1975.
- ↑ Rogers mentioned her brilliant way of interpreting it in his autobiography. See Richard Rogers Musical Stages: An Autobiography , pp. 102ff.
- ↑ So Scott Yanow in his biographical sketch for Allmusic
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Baker, Edythe |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American early jazz pianist and dancer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 25, 1899 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Girard , Kansas |
| DATE OF DEATH | 15th August 1971 |
| Place of death | Orange County , California |