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David "Chase" Baird (born March 18, 1988) is an American saxophonist, composer and songwriter.
Biography
Early life
Baird was born in Seattle, Washington. He was exposed to music at an early age by his father, a trumpet player who played in rock bands and doubled on an eclectic collection of instruments, including saxophone, flute, Rhodes, synthesizer and percussion. His family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1996. He began to play the saxophone around age ten, eventually studied jazz and improvisation for several years with saxophonist Alan Braufman.
During his teenage years, Baird became highly influenced by the music of saxophonist Michael Brecker. A chance encounter with drummer Jeff Hamilton inspired Baird to try to connect with Brecker directly for music lessons. After making contact via Brecker's manager, Brecker agreed to meet in person next time he traveled through Salt Lake City in early 2003.Although brief, Baird cites Brecker's mentorship around this time as influential on the trajectory of his career.
In 2004, Baird's family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. He began to collaborate with other young musicians, including pianist Julian Waterfall Pollack. He graduated from Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California in 2006.
2006–present
Baird attended Diablo Valley College for one year, where he studied as a psychology major. He later transferred to California State University, Long Beach to study music, notably with saxophonists Eric Marienthal, Sal Lozano and Jay Mason and program director Jeff Jarvis. He left program after two years and eventually relocated to New York City, where he enrolled at The Juilliard School (studying with Ron Blake, Frank Kimbrough, Rodney Jones, Kendall Briggs and others) and completed an undergraduate degree in 2014.
In 2009, he was featured in the soundtrack to Emancipated, a film by P.K. Ziainia with music by composer Rodrigo Denis.
Baird recorded and released his debut album, Crosscurrent, in 2010. The album featured pianist Julian Waterfall Pollack, guitarist John Storie, bassist Christopher Tordini, drummer Steve Lyman and percussionist James Yoshizawa.
Baird joined drummer Antonio Sánchez's group Migration in 2018, recording both saxophone and Electronic Wind Instrument on the group's critically acclaimed album Lines in the Sand. The same year, he began to co-lead the band Venture, alongside drummer Mike Clark, vibraphonist Mark Sherman and electric bassist Felix Pastorius. The group released their first album Life Cycle on Ropeadope Records, featuring six originals by Sherman as well as Clark's "Loft Funk" and Baird's "Do You Remember The Beginning?".
In spring 2019, he collaborated with drummer Steve Lyman to compose, record and produce the electro-acoustic composition Pulsar. Baird also released his second album as a leader in August 2019, A Life Between, featuring Antonio Sánchez, Brad Mehldau, Nir Felder and Dan Chmielinski, on Soundsabound Records.
He has also worked as a sideman with artists including Chaka Khan, Matthew Morrison, Thana Alexa, Jakob Dylan, Mike Stern, Antonio Farao, Diana Degarmo, Chloe Agnew, Circuit Kisser, Steve Lyman, the Kyle Athayde Dance Party, and the Mingus Big Band.
Selected discography
As leader
- Pulsar (Outside In Music, 2020) with Steve Lyman, J3PO (Julian Pollack) & Dan Chmielinski
- A Life Between (Soundsabound Records, 2019) with Brad Mehldau, Nir Felder, Dan Chmielinski and Antonio Sanchez
- Crosscurrent (Junebeat Records, 2010) with Julian Pollack, John Storie, Chris Tordini, Steve Lyman and James Yoshizawa
As co-leader
- Life Cycle (Ropeadope Records, 2018) with Mark Sherman, Felix Pastorius and Mike Clark
As sideman
- Force Tranquille – Jean-marie Corrois (Independent, 2020)
- Faking The Moon Landing – Circuit Kisser (Soundsabound Records, 2019)
- Lines in the Sand – Antonio Sanchez & Migration (CAM Jazz, 2018)
- Language of Sound and Spirit – Joshua Maxey (Independent, 2012)
- Hunter –Morgan James (Epic, 2014)
- Celebration of Soul –Joshua Maxey (Independent, 2015)