Music & Conversation: The Podcast Of English Composer Andrew Downes

Paula interviews world-renowned jazz guitarist and bassist, Fred Thelonius Baker.  Fred was a student at Birmingham School of Music (now Royal Birmingham Conservatoire) from 1979, and studied composition with Andrew Downes. Andrew went on to invite Fred to teach at Birmingham Conservatoire in 1989, which led to Fred being a major part of Andrew's new School of Composition and Creative Studies from the early 90s. Fred has been a permanent teacher/lecturer in accoustic and bass guitar there ever since. In the mid 90s, Andrew composed his Concerto for Guitar, Electric Bass Guitar and Strings for Fred playing Electric Bass with Simon Dinnigan playing Acoustic Guitar. They recorded it for CD in 1999 with string players from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Fred and Simon also arranged Downes' Piano Sonatina, Movement 2 for Electric Bass and Acoustic Guitar and also recorded this for the CD. All of these works are played throughout the episode. More information on the works and the CD can be found here: