David Ian
Baker.

On stage. In the studio. In the classroom.

Dr. David Ian Baker is a Utah-based bassist, educator, composer, and arranger whose work reaches from the university classroom to international concert stages. A tenured Associate Professor and Area Coordinator of Jazz & Commercial Music at Utah Valley University, he directs the Jazz Orchestra and leads the university’s jazz and commercial music programs. He is also Artistic Director and Staff Arranger of Hot House West. He holds a Doctor of Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado and has presented masterclasses and lectures for the International Society of Bassists and Jazz Education Network.

His performance credits include Jazz at Lincoln Center, Vail Jazz Festival, Moab Music Festival, and Jazz at Kingsbury Hall. He has performed with Ulysses Owens Jr., Greg Gisbert, Bob Sheppard, Carmen Bradford, and the New York Voices, among many others, and was named First Alternate in the 2019 International Society of Bassists Jazz Performance Competition. His work spans jazz, swing, blues, and American roots music, with a particular expertise in slap upright bass.

As a composer and arranger, David writes for the Hot House West Swing Orchestra and performers around the world—from the Pacific Vocal Series and Rhythm Future to ensembles in Japan and Germany. His recording career encompasses bass performance, production, arranging, engineering, mixing, and mastering. His own projects include Days Over, a folk, country, and jazz hybrid; The Great, Great Noise, his singer/songwriter and contemporary art song project; and Minus Piano, a chordless trio tribute to his favorite pianists.