Shorty Baker
Illustration — Shorty Baker, c. November 1946 Harold "Shorty" Baker (May 26, 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri, US – November 8, 1966) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Shorty Baker
William P. Gottlieb · File:Portrait of Franc Williams, Harold Baker, and Cat Anderson.jpg · Public domain
- Born
- 1914 · St. Louis.
- Died
- 1966 · New York City.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- trumpeter · composer · musician
- Fields
- jazz
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Documentary connections
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q353596 · wikipedia · Shorty Baker
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
As leader/co-leader
As leader/co-leader
Baker began on drums, but switched to trumpet during his teens. He started his career on riverboats and played with Don Redman in the mid-1930s. He also worked with Teddy Wilson and Andy Kirk before joining Duke Ellington. He married Kirk's pianist Mary Lou Williams and though the two separated shortly thereafter, they never officially divorced. Baker worked on and off in Duke Ellington's Orchestra from 1942 to 1962. He also worked with Johnny Hodges's group in the early 1950s, during the period when Hodges was not a member of Ellington's orchestra. He died of throat cancer in New York at the age of 52.
Documentary record
Shorty Baker was born on 26 May 1914 in Saint Louis, Missouri, United States and died on 8 November 1966 in New York, United States.
• 1958.09 - The Broadway Beat (King, 1959) • 1960.05 - The Bud Freeman All-Stars featuring Shorty Baker (Swingville, 1960) with Bud Freeman • 1960.05 - Summer Concert 1960 (Jazz Archives, 1960) The Bud Freeman/Shorty Baker All-Stars • 1961.01 - Shorty & Doc (Swingville, 1961) with Doc Cheatham
Documentary record
Shorty Baker (26 May 1914 – 8 November 1966) is described as a composer and musician in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
As sideman
As sideman
With Johnny Hodges • 1950 - The Rabbit (Vogue, 1950) • 1954 - Johnny Hodges (Norgran, 1954) reissued as Used to Be Duke (Norgran, Verve) • 1955 - Dance Bash (Norgran, 1955) reissued ad Perdido (Norgran and Verve,?) • 1957 - The Big Sound (Verve, 1957) • 196' - The Smooth Sound (Verve,?) • 1961 - Soloist W BIlly Strayhor and Orchestra (Verve,?) With Billy Strayhorn • 1959 - Cue for Saxophone (Felsted, 1959)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1966
Shorty Baker died at New York City.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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St. Louis.
Birth place
New York City.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Shorty Baker”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q353596: Shorty Baker
General reference · Wikidata
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Shorty Baker, revision 1318463650 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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