Jazz will meet classical music at the Jacob School of Music’s faculty and guest recital “From Bach to Baker.”
The combination of music by Bach and jazz composers is a strange idea, cellist Manuel Fischer-Dieskau said, but he said he finds similarities between the two genres.
“If Bach were alive today, he would like jazz,” Fischer-Dieskau said.
The recital is at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Auer Hall.
The concert celebrates the work of composer David Baker, who is a distinguished professor of music and the chairman of the jazz department at IU. He is also the conductor and artistic director for the
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.
Baker is a graduate of IU and has received many awards throughout his career, including an Emmy Award. He has also been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy Award.
The concert features three compositions by Baker.
The performance will also feature guest musicians, including Fischer-Dieskau on cello, Monika Herzig on piano, Jeremy Allen on double bass and Josh Roberts on drums.
The repertoire includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009,” Baker’s “Selections from ‘Jazz Dance Suite for piano (1989),’” Wes Montgomery’s “D-Natural Blues,” Freddie Hubbard’s “Little Sunflower,” Baker’s “Bebop Revisited,” and Baker’s “Suite for cello & jazz trio (1994).”
Fischer-Dieskau is a German cellist who has performed throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. In 2014, he released an album featuring music by Baker called “David Baker: Singer of Songs/Weaver of Dreams for Cello & Percussion; Sonata for Cello & Piano; Suite for Cello & Jazz Trio.”
Fischer-Dieskau said he is looking forward to playing in front of Baker, who will be in the audience at the concert.
Baker has a distinctive style, Fischer-Dieskau said.
“No one else writes like he does,” he said.
Herzig, who is a senior lecturer in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs arts administration program, wrote a book called “David Baker — A Legacy in Music.” The book was released in 2011 on IU Press.
Herzig said Baker’s music is a cross of classical music with jazz influences.
“It’s very joyful but also very sophisticated,” Herzig said.
Baker is also a cellist, Fischer-Dieskau said, and he is able to write music for the cello effectively because of his familiarity with the instrument.
Fischer-Dieskau, who was not trained to perform jazz, said Baker’s music is challenging to play and requires plenty of practice.
Bach was a great improviser, Fischer-Dieskau said, and improvisation is prevalent in jazz music.
Understanding what the two types of music have in common influences his performance, Fischer-Dieskau said.
“This changes my way of playing Bach,” he said. “The music becomes much more free if you take this approach.”
The event is free and open to the public.
Herzig said she is looking forward to honoring Baker at the concert by performing his beautiful music.
“I wouldn’t recommend that anyone miss it because it will only happen once,” Herzig said.
