The Great, Great Noise is the first solo album by Salt Lake City based multi-instrumentalist, composer, educator, arranger, and collaborator, David Baker. 

 

Known primarily as a bass player and arranger/composer, David is making his first foray into the world of singer songwriter as the leader and sole writer of this momentous project, debuting a new side of his artistic voice. Written over the course of six years, The Great, Great Noise is the story of David’s life thus far and an uncensored look into his artistic mind. The ten tracks reflect on love, loss, and change, in a way that’s as emotionally charged, creative, and vibrant as David is himself.

 

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, David found refuge in music after experiencing profound loss as a teenager. That loss and appreciation for life infuses every note of the album into one maximalist project inspired by folk, contemporary art song, and modern jazz. Each piece began as a piano and vocal score calling on his years of conservatory study in classical music and jazz composition. This time, however, he abandoned rule following and opted to carefully choose each note first as an emotional storytelling mechanism rather than for its musical functionality to best convey honest stories.

 

David’s emphasis on rawness, realness, and musical diversity is unique to the world of modern jazz. The Great, Great Noise reflects David’s fascination and genuine inspiration with a wide variety of genres and artists. And not only an inspiration from an artist’s strengths, but from their beautiful human imperfections—their dissonance, stuttering, pitchiness, rawness. Instead of following the path of ‘perfection as higher music’, David opts to retain vulnerability, leave imperfections alone, and enhance humanity by not over-polishing the tracks. He has numerous improvisational collaborations with other artists, and mixes a vast array of musical textures and storytelling deep within the mix of the songs themselves. From a crackling fire, to dissonant fiddles and mandolins, and a sometimes cacophony of indiscernible sounds, each track teems with a thoughtfully curated patchwork of life and story through music.

 

David draws inspiration from 20th classical composition, from the likes of jazz explorers like Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Brad Mehldau who embrace unknown dissonations. He wanted to be free from restrictions and explore what each unique soundscape could become based on the story he was telling. The album tone is akin to Sufjan Stevens, Steve Reich, Benjamin Britten, Brad Mehldau, and Jacob Collier, all mixed into one project. Beyond the attention to counterpoint, there is a deep element of blues and folk throughout, padded by dense mid-century string writing, chamber music orchestration, and jazz.

 

Each song tells a unique story, whether as a stripped down arrangement or larger than life. A Cyber Bed reflects on the global pandemic and explores textures from artists who contributed in isolation. Sounds that evoke the universal uncomfortable and restless state of society are layered deep within the mix, creating an ocean of voices separate but sharing in their loneliness. As the melodic motif returns throughout the song, it is reharmonized; no two phrases the same in length; no one moment properly settled.

 

Something Yellow is an ode to a friend who committed suicide and is named for her favorite color that was worn at the funeral: yellow. Harmonies that can’t be justified tell the story, much like the shock felt when those who loved her first heard of the immense loss. Drew Zaremba is featured throughout; the saxophone weaving the blues throughout this modern, eccentric, and jolting track. The Great, Great Noise is a cascade of sounds, embracing the textures of John Adams, Steve Reich, and mid-century string and woodwind writing. The varied soundscape imitates life and all the white noise it encompasses–the voices that make it what it is. The chaos of noise is sometimes liberating, and sometimes frightening. The rhythmic pocket with the bass and chords never quite adding up, creating a beautiful feeling of instability.

The Great, Great Noise by David Ian Baker, is a beautiful testament to his musical and emotional heart that is filled and broken by the stories around him. It is something to behold as a masterful piece of art and a raw, and very real  journey to wander alongside by listening.

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Catalog #: WMR2403