David Baker Quotes

United States, Composer
December 21, 1931 – March, 26, 2016.

David Nathaniel Baker Jr. (December 21, 1931 – March 26, 2016) was an American jazz composer, conductor, and musician from Indianapolis, Indiana, as well as a professor of jazz studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Baker is best known as an educator and founder of the jazz studies program. From 1991 to 2012, he was conductor and musical and artistic director for the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. He has more than 65 recordings, 70 books, and 400 articles to his credit.

Also known as Conductor, Musician, Professor

I believe without exception that theory follows practice. Whenever there is a conflict between theory and practice, theory is wrong. As far as I'm concerned, we make theories for what people have done.

David Baker
- People
- Believe
- Done
I think we all realized that we had really been replicating things that had already been happening. I don't know if we were smart enough to realize that we were in a cul-de-sac, but we were curious.

David Baker
- Smart

No one bill will cure the problem of spam. It will take a combined effort of legislation, litigation, enforcement, customer education, and technology solutions.

David Baker
I think we always move from imitation to assimilation to innovation, but I can't name you 20 people outside those we've already recognized who ever got to point three: innovation.

David Baker
- People
- Innovation
It is rare that even a jazz musician finds an individual voice.

David Baker
The Palestinian Authority refuses on an ongoing basis to take the necessary steps to prevent terrorists from getting into Israel.

David Baker
What that book does for me is give me the tools in the same way that I had the tools when I learned the regular scales or the alphabet. If you give me the tools, the syntax, and the grammar, it still doesn't tell me how to write Ulysses.

David Baker
- Book
When I look back now, it must have been like Paris was at the time of Le Sacre du Printemps.

David Baker
- Time
- Paris

That is, the only reason salvation is necessary is to get us back to the garden. The Pentateuch not only presents where we began but also why we are not there any more, and why and how we need to get back.

David Baker
- Why
- Garden
In retrospect I realize that the threat was about ego rather than the validity of the music.

David Baker
- Music
- Ego