Crotchety old drummer Ginger Baker has quite a story to tell in BEWARE OF MR. BAKER
BEWARE OF MR. BAKER (Jay Bulger, 2012)
City Winery
155 Varick St.
Tuesday, January 29, $5, 8:00
212-608-0555
www.bewareofmrbaker.com
www.citywinery.com
“A great virtuoso madman,” “scary,” “a motherfucker,” “a lovable rogue,” “a dope addict,” “the hammer of the gods,” “a force of nature,” “horrible,” “the world’s greatest drummer” — these are just some of the terms of affection heaped on legendary drummer Ginger Baker by his friends, relatives, and musical colleagues at the beginning of Jay Bulger’s propulsive documentary, Beware of Mr. Baker. In 2009, after spending three months with Baker and his family in South Africa, Bulger published the in-depth article “The Devil and Ginger Baker” in Rolling Stone. Two years later, Bulger went back to expand the story into a feature-length film, but Baker was not about to make it easy for him, continually insulting his questions, calling him names, and even cracking him in the nose with his cane. “He influenced me as a drummer but not as a person,” Bad Company and Free drummer Simon Kirke says of Baker, an opinion shared by many in this revealing film. Baker might be crotchety, but he also opens up to Bulger, particularly in describing when, as a child during WWII, he would hear the bombings outside, sounds that would have an impact on his playing. Bulger speaks with such other percussionists as the Rolling Stones’ Charlie Watts, Rush’s Neal Peart, the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, the Police’s Stewart Copeland, Vanilla Fudge’s Carmine Appice, and Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, as well as such former Baker bandmates as Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Steve Winwood, who all rave about Baker’s remarkable abilities behind the kit while also delving into his self-destructive behavior, which led him through a parade of groups, home countries, and spouses. “I don’t know if it’s his ability to move on or it’s his inability to stay,” points out Baker’s third wife, Karen Loucks Rinedollar, a statement that applies to both Baker’s personal and professional lives.
Drummer Ginger Baker and director Jay Bulger developed a rather unique relationship during the making of fascinating documentary
Through photographs, old and new interviews, playful animation, and superb archival footage of live performances, Bulger traces Baker’s career path from the Graham Bond Organisation, Cream, Blind Faith, Ginger Baker’s Air Force, the Baker Gurvitz Army, and Masters of Reality to his little-known collaboration with Fela Kuti and his drum battles with three of his four major influences: Phil Seamen, Elvin Jones, and Art Blakey. (The fourth is Max Roach; Baker gets emotional discussing how all four men eventually became friends of his.) In ninety-two freewheeling minutes, Bulger crafts a fascinating portrait of a wild anomaly, an immensely talented musician whose difficult, unpredictable personality and selfish refusal to ever compromise continues to result in controversy and separation everywhere he goes. Yet through it all, everyone still speaks fondly of Baker; Bruce might talk about how much they hated each other and couldn’t stand playing together — Baker once punched Bruce onstage in the face for stepping on his drum solo — but in the end Bruce can’t help but profess his love for the enigmatic, eclectic Baker. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 SXSW festival, Beware of Mr. Baker is having a special $5 screening at City Winery on January 29 at 8:00, followed by a Q&A with Bulger; in addition, special wines will be paired with the different stages of Baker’s life and career as portrayed in the film.