 
Sunday, October 24, 2010
THE BAKER SUITE
www.thebakersuite.com
4 - 7pm, $10 cover
Straight from the heart and reminiscent of a smoky, French café, The Baker Suite create a seductive and potent world full of compelling stories and lush instrumentation, carrying the listener through elegant ballads, gypsy romantica and a lurching night waltz in the rain.
John Baker is a storyteller; his song writing is intimate, playful and poetic with an ambiguity that draws the listener in.
“I have always treasured great song writing, and after listening to The Baker Suites’ recordings I was struck by the depth and authenticity of the material. It harks back to great writers such as James Taylor, Jimmy Webb, Carole King or Burt Bacharach” Paul Grabowsky.
March 2010 saw the release of their most anticipated album to date, ‘A Quartet for Car Horns and Brakes’, produced by Australian icon Paul Grabowsky, who also features on piano. Hear songs at
The Baker suite has performed throughout Australia and Japan and supported Archie Roach & Ruby Hunter, Vika and Linda Bull, Francoiz Breut (Fr), Mary Gauthier (USA) and The Audreys. Festival appearances include the Adelaide Festival of Arts, International Guitar Festival (Aust), The Nelson Arts Festival (NZ), and The National Folk Festival (Aust).
The Independent Weekly, Jim Mack
“The rich, lush sound of the opening moments of this performance drew the audience in and held it until the standing ovation and cheers for more at the end. John Baker, who writes the songs, has a whispering, almost raspy, vocal style – think Leonard Cohen or Jack Johnson. His acoustic guitar is subtle, rhythmic and tasteful. Buckby gives the band her distinctive sound with her gloriously melancholic accordion”.
The Sydney Morning Herald, May 7 2010, John Shand
Adelaide’s John Baker trades in subtlety and nuance. The oddity is that he does this while making pop music. His lyrics have that hazy, oneiric quality you feel when awaking in the morning convinced you’ve already been up, and the last dream was real. The music echoes the words in this regard. Bakers voice is fragile and wispy, so final consonants fade to oblivion amid Gayle Buckby’s gentle backing vocals and the swishing accompaniment. The latter is all class, with Paul Grabowsky playing piano, contributing to the arrangements and producing the album. Brilliant guitarist Stephen Magnusson adds his own layers of mystery over the relaxed rhythm section and swooning violas. Pithy pop for thinking people.
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