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Dr. David Ian Baker is a tenured Associate Professor and Area Coordinator of Jazz and Commercial Music at Utah Valley University, where he directs the Jazz Orchestra. He holds a Doctor of Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado. Based in Utah, he is also a bassist, arranger, composer, and songwriter, and Artistic Director and Staff Arranger of Hot House West. His performance credits include Jazz at Lincoln Center, Vail Jazz Festival, and Moab Music Festival. His work connects performance, education, arranging, and community, with teaching grounded in practical musicianship and the cultural roots of American music.

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Dr. David Ian Baker is a tenured Associate Professor and Area Coordinator of Jazz and Commercial Music at Utah Valley University, where he directs the Jazz Orchestra. He holds a Doctor of Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado. Based in Utah, he is also a bassist, arranger, composer, and songwriter, and Artistic Director and Staff Arranger of Hot House West. His performance credits include Jazz at Lincoln Center, Vail Jazz Festival, and Moab Music Festival. His work connects performance, education, arranging, and community, with teaching grounded in practical musicianship and the cultural roots of American music.

As an educator and researcher, Baker believes in making music education accessible, rigorous, and connected to its cultural roots. He has presented masterclasses and lectures at International Society of Bassists Conventions and Jazz Education Network Conferences, and regularly works with regional school ensembles through clinics and adjudication. His research explores jazz pedagogy, early jazz history, pluralism, and religion. An active recording musician, he performs with the Hot House West Swing Orchestra, Nathan Royal Trio, Pompe n’ Honey, and The Elderblossoms. He has collaborated with artists including Ulysses Owens Jr., Greg Gisbert, Bob Sheppard, Carmen Bradford, and the New York Voices.

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Dr. David Ian Baker is a tenured Associate Professor and Area Coordinator of Jazz and Commercial Music at Utah Valley University, where he directs the Jazz Orchestra. He holds a Doctor of Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado. Based in Utah, he is also a bassist, arranger, composer, and songwriter, and Artistic Director and Staff Arranger of Hot House West. His performance credits include Jazz at Lincoln Center, Vail Jazz Festival, and Moab Music Festival. His work connects performance, education, arranging, and community, with teaching grounded in practical musicianship and the cultural roots of American music.

As an educator and researcher, Baker believes in making music education accessible, rigorous, and connected to its cultural roots. He has presented masterclasses and lectures at International Society of Bassists Conventions and Jazz Education Network Conferences, and regularly works with regional school ensembles through clinics and adjudication. His research explores jazz pedagogy, early jazz history, pluralism, and religion. An active recording musician, he performs with the Hot House West Swing Orchestra, Nathan Royal Trio, Pompe n’ Honey, and The Elderblossoms. He has collaborated with artists including Ulysses Owens Jr., Greg Gisbert, Bob Sheppard, Carmen Bradford, and the New York Voices.

His compositions and arrangements have been performed by Rhythm Future, the Mouri Yoshiki Orchestra in Japan, the University of Osnabrück Big Band in Germany, and ensembles presented by the Pacific Vocal Series and Moab Music Festival. He also works as a producer, professional recording engineer, mixing engineer, and mastering engineer.

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Dr. David Ian Baker is a tenured Associate Professor and Area Coordinator of Jazz and Commercial Music at Utah Valley University, where he directs the Jazz Orchestra. He holds a Doctor of Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado. Based in Utah, he is also a bassist, arranger, composer, and songwriter, and Artistic Director and Staff Arranger of Hot House West. His performance credits include Jazz at Lincoln Center, Vail Jazz Festival, and Moab Music Festival. His work connects performance, education, arranging, and community, with teaching grounded in practical musicianship and the cultural roots of American music.

As an educator and researcher, Baker believes in making music education accessible, rigorous, and connected to its cultural roots. He has presented masterclasses and lectures at International Society of Bassists Conventions and Jazz Education Network Conferences, and regularly works with regional school ensembles through clinics and adjudication. His research explores jazz pedagogy, early jazz history, pluralism, and religion. An active recording musician, he performs with the Hot House West Swing Orchestra, Nathan Royal Trio, Pompe n’ Honey, and The Elderblossoms. He has collaborated with artists including Ulysses Owens Jr., Greg Gisbert, Bob Sheppard, Carmen Bradford, and the New York Voices.

His compositions and arrangements have been performed by Rhythm Future, the Mouri Yoshiki Orchestra in Japan, the University of Osnabrück Big Band in Germany, and ensembles presented by the Pacific Vocal Series and Moab Music Festival. He also works as a producer, professional recording engineer, mixing engineer, and mastering engineer.

Raised in a musical family near Atlanta, Georgia, Baker studied classical violin and viola at Columbus State University before making double bass his primary instrument in 2013. His musical interests span bebop, swing, blues, and acoustic roots traditions, and he is recognized for his performance and teaching of slap bass.