Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

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Dave Detwiler
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Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

Post by Dave Detwiler »

Hi all,

An 82-year-old woman reached out to me last night, asking if I could help her learn more about the musical career of her maternal great grandfather, Eldon Baker.

Here's what I've learned so far: http://tubapastor.blogspot.com/2021/10/ ... loist.html

If you happen to know more of his story, please share it here.

Enjoy!
Dave

P. S. Eldon is the dude on the far right, with the bass Antoniophone!

1889 Quintette of Antoniophones (Harper's Weekly).JPG
1889 Quintette of Antoniophones (Harper's Weekly).JPG (110.99 KiB) Viewed 1152 times
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Re: Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

Post by matt g »

That’s some quality research! Thank you for sharing.
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Re: Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

Post by Yorkboy »

Thank you for that elaborate write-up and research. Eldon Baker is a name I’ve been hearing all my life, but with scant details to follow it.


I especially like the fact that he quit Fred Innes’ band because he refused to endorse Conn instruments.
Last edited by Yorkboy on Fri Oct 08, 2021 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

Post by bisontuba »

:thumbsup:
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Re: Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

Post by Dave Detwiler »

Update: I've added more to the blog post, as I keep learning more about Eldon. Enjoy!
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Estubist (Mon Oct 11, 2021 6:44 am)
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Re: Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

Post by humBell »

I don't suppose my local music store carries Antoniophones...
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Re: Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

Post by Estubist »

Thank you for your interesting posts. I never heard about Antoniophones before.
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Re: Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

Post by Three Valves »

Estubist wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 6:46 am Thank you for your interesting posts. I never heard about Antoniophones before.
...and now we all want one!!
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Re: Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

Post by windshieldbug »

humBell wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 12:28 pm I don't suppose my local music store carries Antoniophones...

That's because by now they have evolved into the more popular Tonyphones...
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Re: Eldon Baker - one of the earliest known professional bass soloists!

Post by Rick Denney »

windshieldbug wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 9:07 am
humBell wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 12:28 pm I don't suppose my local music store carries Antoniophones...

That's because by now they have evolved into the more popular Tonyphones...
He was the star on that HBO series...The Contrabasses...about the gang of wise guy bass horn players who extorted money from the clarinet section in a protection racket, right?

Rick "just checking my historical facts, here" Denney
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