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Robert G. Baldwin, Jr. was
born in Mount Vernon, NY, the second of four children to Robert G. Baldwin
and Addie-Viola Baldwin. |
Dad learns of the 'perfect-pitch' ear of
the Jr. Baldwin. Sits his son in the
room, plays a note and Bob Jr. calls it out while reading Charlie Brown
paperbacks, much to the shock of his
friends.
2 years later, he began to
take Classical Music lessons formally, while being taught Jazz by his
father at home. He also went to gigs with his dad and watched him 'do his
thing' on the piano!
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The Baldwins move
to Peekskill (Cortlandt Manor), NY. Learns his first jazz tune, "Satin
Doll", by the great Duke Ellington.
Jr. is also amazed by the keyboard wizardry of the incredible Oscar
Peterson, one of his father's favorites. Is fascinated by his dad to play
Peterson at 1/2 speed and study his piano solos Jr. takes notes. |
Sr. and Jr. BB have the
honor to visit Art Davis (Bassist for John Coltrane), who were good
friends and worked often around Westchester County.
That
afternoon, Jr. meets Jazz Drummer legend Max
Roach, and his dad, Roach and Davis jam together in the Davis
living room....so cool! |
OCTOBER - Robert
G. Baldwin, Sr. suffers tragedy from an operation and is unable to play
music from that day forth. The affect on the Jr. Baldwin was devastating and
contemplates quitting music. During that down time, his dad encouraged him to, "Don't give
up".
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On his first day job, a
supermarket job at age 15 due to dad's illness, Robert was called "Bob". With the exception of mom, the
name stuck!! |
Bob had a high school friend, Mark Johnson, who attended Geneva
College, and after visiting the school in Beaver Falls, Pa., Bob applied
for school and began his studies in Accounting Later that year, he
fell in love with broadcasting and had a Sunday night show at WGEV, where
he played George Duke, Quincy Jones, Patti Austin and George Benson.
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BB joined a Gospel music group at Geneva to get him
back into practicing and playing music again. The choir had the
opportunity to open up for the legendary Hawkins Family. "Watching
Tramaine Hawkins sing "Change" blew me completely away. That concert
moved me to stay with music because I watched how music moved people's
spiritual emotions". THE SPARK WAS BACK!
On an Accounting note, BB kicked Accounting
to the curb and switched his major to Business Administration. "Cost
Accounting kicked my butt!"
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Baldwin was fired by the local steak
restaurant for stealing fries. "I was hungry and they had the best
potatoes in town, however, the boss wasn't so forgiving". That was
the turning point for his studies in Beaver Falls, Pa. Running quickly out of
College money, BB packed his bags and headed back to NY and started an internship
with WBLS/WLIB in NY. He had the honor to watch the great Frankie Crocker
briefly in his hey-day, as well as other great NY radio legends, Kenny Webb, Sergio Dean
and Pat
Prescott. |
Baldwin lands a job at WINS News pulling
news copy and performing copywriting duties, but within a week of his
hiring, the entire News Staff and Broadcasters go out on strike! Baldwin's
1010-WINS run gets
cut short as he learns at the age of 20 about crossing the "picket line"....bad
move.
Bob re-thinks the radio career and starts
focusing on the music between going to school part-time. |
BB quits his part-time
job at the insurance company and puts part-time school on hold to pursue
his dream of doing gigs full-time.
Many mistakes were made
on that gig, beginning with being owed gig money from the popular jazz
artist, whom we'll remain nameless. Airfare reimbursement and food
per-diem and Fender Rhodes freight.
Baldwin calls a girlfriend up to get a $200.00 Western
Union in order to purchase a return flight home along with his 100 Pound
Fender Rhodes.
Within 2 weeks, Baldwin re-enrolled in College. The
fantasy had ended....back to the drawing board. On that trip, however, he
meets saxophonist Marion Meadows. Both artists were unsigned at the time. |
BB's
first recorded sideman sessions with Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson and
Vaneese Thomas in New York City as a Keyboardist and Programmer on the
Hush Recording Label (Charles Huggins). |
BB
formed The Bob Baldwin/Al Orlo Project, a local group in New
Rochelle, NY. The goal was to showcase original material
using a hot NY-Based rhythm section, which at times included Dave Weckl
(Chick Corea), Fred Vigdor (AWB), Joel Rosenblatt (Spyro Gyra), and Bryan
Doherty (The Silos).
The
ensemble earned an opening spot for Tom Browne at the the legendary Bottom
Line in New York City, leading to the keyboardist's first production which
trumpeter Browne ("Funkin' for Jamaica").
The club, owned by Mr. Vinny Pastore, was closed down as
Vinny goes on to pursue acting??? He later lands his debut acting
gig with "The Sopranos".
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Baldwin works with James "Crab" Robinson on the Tabu label. Crab replaced
Luther Vandross in the group "Change" before going solo.
During a
Crab session, BB meets Najee, who plays a solo on Crab's record, written
by Baldwin. |
Through Browne, Baldwin meets Producer Danny Weiss and Dave
Wilkes of Delta Music, and
debuts his Production and Arranging talents on Tom Browne's No Longer I
album.
BB begins to crank out sessions in the
evening after working during the day. "Many a night was slept on the
studio couch before going back to work."
This led to his Production deal with Malaco Records. I've Got a
Long Way To Go, featured Saxophonists Nelson Rangell and Fred Vigdor .
Marion Meadows also begins recording that year and both do some dates
together in NY and Ct. Picture was taken
from Dad from the 1960's.
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While sitting on the day job one afternoon, Baldwin receives a call from the
staff of the Sony Innovators Award, and courtesy of Roberta Flack, he
emerges victorious amongst 300+ applicants. This award receives great
media attention, and eventually, it led to the signing at Atlantic Jazz
Records under then-President Sylvia Rhone, with Weiss co-producing the
project.
Labelmates included Gerald Albright, Paul Jackson, Jr., Bobby Lyle and
Hiram Bullock. |
Baldwin released his debut solo CD, Rejoice on Atlantic Jazz Records,
which featured Lenny White, Tom Browne, Sharon Bryant (Of Atlantic Starr)
and others.
Baldwin meets Baritonist Will Downing at a benefit for Drummer Yogi Horton in NYC.
Yogi was Luther
Vandross' drummer.
Baldwin co-pens
"She" on Downing’s A Dream Fulfilled CD. (Top 10 Billboard Jazz Charts).
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Bob's mom, Viola Baldwin completes college at the age of
60, after 10 years of evening college at Mercy College.
Literally one day following the celebration of Mom's
college degree on
2/19/91, tragedy struck the
Baldwin's as
Bob's only brother, William Baldwin was killed in a car accident going back
to college. He was 19 years old. |
Baldwin gets a phone
call from one of his childhood idols, the great saxophonist Grover
Washington, Jr.. They both work together on his first Self-Produced CD,
Reflections of Love (#5 Billboard Contemporary Jazz), which also featured
Will Downing, Marion Meadows, and Atlantic Starr Vocalist Porter Carroll.
The title and the album is dedicated to his brother, William Arthur
Baldwin.
Later in the year,
he teamed up with Washington, producing a song on his album, Next Exit,
which featured Levi Stubbs and The Four Tops. "Reflections Of Love" peaked
at #7 while at the same time, Washington’s Next Exit peaked at #5, and
Marion Meadows' Keep It Right There.
There was sitting at
#7, Baldwin teamed up with Meadows, with Downing and produced "Come Back
To Me", which was a big hit for both artists in 1992 and 1993.
The cover was shot
by Rod Taylor. Rod was inspired as a teen-ager by Bob's dad, an wonderful
Photographer
himself. |
Baldwin enjoyed a
brief collaborative stint with Pieces of A Dream while pianist James Lloyd
took a short sabbatical.
Upon Lloyd’s return,
he had the chance to team up with him on a couple of shows together, which
was a personal thrill.
He also produced two
songs on the In Flight CD on Blue Note Records (Billboard Jazz Top 20).
Baldwin also recorded a CD entitled, State of Mind, which to date
was never released.
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Baldwin leaves the
Big Apple (N.Y.) and heads down I95 to Atlanta, Ga.
His playing days are
far from over as he begins a new recording and goes on the road with
Marion Meadows for a period extending 4 years with a few dates in between
with Will Downing. |
Baldwin produced
Meadows, "Body Rhythm" CD, which went Top 20 on the Billboard Jazz and top
20 Radio Charts.
Baldwin and Meadows
also Co-Headline the Asbury Jazz Festival in front of 20,000+ fans. That
concert featured an impromptu version of “People Make The World Go Round”,
of which it was embraced by the South Jersey audience, and that song
became a staple in the Baldwin repertoire. |
Baldwin began to study
the accounting piece of the royalty process and was enlightened.
He then produced a
record out of personal modest funds, his first independent CD called, City Sketches I / Welcome To The Games.
He pulled in a few favors, such as Rohn Lawrence and Meadows.
City Sketches was a musical tribute
to Atlanta, Ga. Over 10,000 units were sold on the Internet and Live Venue
Sales. Frequent visits to the Post Office forced him to buy a Pitney Bowes
mail machine.
He also incorporates City Sketches, Inc., based out of Atlanta,
Ga., and also launched his website
www.CitySketches.com, and became one of
the first Jazz Artists to sell CD's online on a secured server. Some of
the music to City Sketches was later used during the 1996 Olympics, also
held in Atlanta, Ga.
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Baldwin signs a
one-shot deal with Shanachie Records, under old producer-mate Danny Weiss.
Baldwin produces
and releases, Cool Breeze (Top 30/Billboard Contemporary Jazz), on Shanachie Records. The CD features the song "Summer Breeze," (Top
20/Smooth jazz radio charts) with Meadows, and guitarist Larry Coryell.
Shortly after the release, Baldwin does a few gigs with Chuck Loeb.
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Baldwin teams up
with Will Downing on the road and does a series of concerts together,
which include the Essence Music Festival, The Newport Jazz Festival and
the Benson and the 10-city Hedges Music Festival. Group included Albright,
Phil Perry and Vesta Williams. |
Baldwin acquires
a modest sum of investment funding, signs a Distribution Deal with Orpheus
Records/EMI and completes his
second independent CD, Bobbaldwin.com, on City Sketches, Inc.
The CD
peaked at #13 on Billboard Jazz. The innovator's remake of Tom Browne's "Funkin'
for Jamaica" won rave reviews, while his CD distributes through the
Virgin/EMI network. He also launched his new site, www.BobBaldwin.com and
triples his internet hits count in less than 6 months, cross-marketing the title
with his site.
Baldwin is supported by Vaneese Thomas, Eric Essix,
Gerald Albright, Dean James and along with long-time supporters Browne,
Meadows, and Downing.
Baldwin wrote and
played two songs on the All The Man You Need CD, which earned a nomination
for Grammy for best Tradition R&B.
His records from 2000 through currnet were engineered by Dennis Johnson,
who's contribution was invaluable.
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Baldwin makes a trip to South Africa and meets Vusi Khamalo and they
develop a long-distance musical friendship. Vusi also bails out the
Baldwin/Marion Meadows date there by sub-contracting a South African-based
band to do the gigs. |
Baldwin signs a
one-year deal with Narada Music and starts recording "Standing Tall." He
begins to develop his Bob Baldwin and Friends Tour Package, which featured
Tom Browne, Marion Meadows, Phil Perry and Chuck Loeb. |
9/11/01 - Shortly after the
World Trade Center tragedy, Baldwin penned and released, "God Bless
America", which was played in N.Y.C. This led to the Bob Baldwin Presents
The American Spirit CD in May, 2002 as a tribute to those victims, killed
in the twin towers tragedy.
His musical offering
was shared on several Fox TV stations and made a brief appearance on BET. Baldwin
also released his CD, Standing Tall (Billboard Top 10) in September, which
jumped out of the Billboard box at #10 during its first week on the radio
airplay charts.
Both releases featured Chuck Loeb, Ray Vega, Dean James,
Kim Waters, Marion Meadows, Phil Perry and Chieli Minucci. He also worked
with percussionist Cafe Da-Silva from Brazil, where his musical interests
in Brazilian Jazz began to peak. The Way She Looked At Me” was #9 most
played CD in the Smooth Jazz genre in 2003.
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Baldwin teams up with
R&B crooner Freddie Jackson and produces Jackson’s new single, "Natural
Thing," in anticipation of a Spring 2004 release.
He also signs to A440
Music and travels to Rio De Janeiro and Ipanema, Brazil to start his
upcoming recording and forever gains a better understanding of Bossa-Nova,
Samba, Partido-Alto and Chorinho styles. During his Brazil recording,
"The Way She Looked At Me" was the 9th most played song in the
Contemporary Jazz Format for the entire year. Baldwin begins featuring
Jeff Kashiwa, Doc Powell, Phil Perry and Chieli Minucci on the Bob Baldwin
and Friends Tour Package.
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Baldwin makes his
debut on the A440 Music Group Label and releases his 9th CD, Brazil
Chill, where he fuses Brazil with Contemporary Jazz. It features Cafe,
Torcuato Mariano, Azimuth and Leo Gandleman. He also teams up with
Saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa, who also makes an appearance on the new CD. The
overflow of music creates 2 CD's, the first to be released March 2004 with
the follow-up sometime in 2005-2006.
In September, 2004,
Bob received the SESAC music award for his CD, “Standing Tall” and
in particular, “The Way She Looked At Me”, which peaked at #3 Billboard
Contemporary Jazz.
Baldwin is hired as a
Consultant at WJSJ - Jacksonville, Fl. where he increased their Website hits
by 100% and listener-ship by 25% within 12 weeks. As Music Director,
BB started to reach out to label contacts in lieu of new discs and calls
Dave Chackler on 215 Records and establishes a relationship with the
label.
It was at WJSJ where he began to develop the "NewUrbanJazz" sound.
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In Spring, 2005, a440 files bankruptcy. On the label trail again.
Baldwin reaches out to Mr. Chackler and signs shortly after on 215 Music.
In summer of ’05,
Baldwin produces the Croton Point Music Festival in Croton NY,
where he worked with Phil Perry, Marion Meadows, Stephanie Mills and
Pieces of a Dream. The venue attracted over 7,000 music fans.
Later that year,
Baldwin travels to Bermuda to launch the first ever smooth Jazz station in Bermuda and
does the Morning-Drive host. The station gains popularity in a short period of time and Baldwin develops a contemporary
jazz music scene at Snorkel Park, a series he helped to cultivate. During
that year, “All In a Day’s Work” is launched, his 10th CD
overall. The "NewUrbanJazz" sound is also cultivated in Bermuda.
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BB continues to
develop his DVD project, which is near completion...another out-of-pocket
experience.
Narada goes out of business and dissolves into Blue Note. Baldwin dodges
another label bullet but only for a few weeks as 215 Records goes under.
Through the a440 and 215 label meltdowns, CSI picks up the master rights
to some of his previous recordings and re-releases them on Nu-Groove
Records, also owned by Dave Chackler.
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BB's is hired at
the Music Consultant at WCLK radio in Atlanta, where he is also assigned
the responsibility of festival organizer at the Centennial Park’s
Wednesday WindDown. He develops a lineup which is as indicative as the
city’s great culture. He further develops the sound "NewUrbanJazz".
Releases his first disc, "Memoirs of the Hudson" 10 miles from his NY
Home. "The Sanctioned Bootleg" is the audio version of the live DVD.
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In Feb., 2008, he joins
Radio-One as an on-air host for WJZZ in Atlanta. This was where he was
able to execute “The
NewUrbanJazz Lounge”, which picks up stations, and starts to think
"affiliates".
He is looking to expand
NUJ into 2009, and during the process, decides to title his disc "NewUrbanJazz.com".
After years of discussion, Baldwin and Najee collaborate on "My Cherie
Amour". Baldwin also receives an accidental email from Jocelyn Brown
and they re-unite and do their own renditon on "Somebody Elses' Guy".
Brown is located in UK and they begin discussing dates there for 2009.
2 weeks before the release of the disc, CD101 flips format and that begins
a series of other stations following suit throughout the East Coast.
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May 31, 2008 Robert G.
Baldwin, Sr., the son of Bob Baldwin, Sr. passes away at the age of 82.
Baldwin was a lifelong inspiration of the younger Baldwin. "May dad
taught me some incredible things about life, love and commitment to a
dream.
More |
December 8,
2008 Bob's
Stepfather, Tuskegee Airman Albert L. Gaines, an incredible serviceman and
family man,
passes
away at the age of 82.
Another incredible blow
to our family. He's missed daily and his contributions to the community
and Westchester County are missed.
More
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BB wins another SESAC music award for his songs from "NewUrbanJazz.com".
New Release coming this summer,
documenting the path of BB's career, titled,
The
First 20., which marks his 20th anniversary as an Artist (1988
- 2008).BB
further develops "The NewUrbanJazz Lounge" radio format and begins to
spread the show through HBCU's, Colleges and indie radio stations.
The journey continues..... |
