“One of the most thoughtful, daring, and lyrically gifted composers in Nashville.”

John Pitcher

“I have worked with Kyle to conceive of a sound project in an odd place – a rental car facility at Nashville International Airport. He’s been a breeze to work with and has impressed me with his deep technical knowledge alongside great creativity and flexibility. He can present his ideas well and he is very resourceful and skilled at making an idea work. For our purpose, we knew what we wanted to do – present sound and video art projects in a non-traditional setting, but we really didn’t know how to accomplish that. We found traditional tech companies wanted to sell us stock systems that are used in trade shows and corporate settings. We really needed an artist’s sensibility to make our project work and we found that with Kyle.”

Caroline Vincent
Director of Public Art, Nashville Arts Commission

“Kyle was a valued and dedicated member of Carolina Crown for 3 years. He was an excellent performer and a great leader, and was highly respected by his fellow members, faculty administrators and volunteers. He continues to be part of the Carolina Crown family as an active alumnus.”

Kevin Smith
Director, Carolina Crown

“Kyle’s understanding of the professional demands of the music world as well as his innate creativity make him an effective educator and composer. His passion for music is one that is contagious and refreshing.”

James Barnes

Director of Bands, Blythewood High School (Columbia, SC)
Brass Caption Head, Music City Drum & Bugle Corps

I’m sure you have guys you have worked with, but I can promise you, none like this. He delivers wonderful material. Kyle has produced some great work for me in the past –

He is a phenomenal talent.

Brian “Bee” Williams

Sidebar Digital

AUDIO REEL

by Kyle J Baker

PORTFOLIO

Dance Network

Audio Branding

William Carey

Concert Music

Avila Soul

Art Music

Blue Moves

Art Music, Film Music

LAMENT

by Kyle J Baker

DENIM FANFARE

by Kyle J Baker

THE HOLLY & THE IVY

by Kyle J Baker

Move Like You Stole It (zz ward)

by Kyle J Baker

SERVICES

ART MUSIC

I create original, boundary-pushing instrumental music for ensembles, and also sound design and recorded audio for collaborations with artists like Adrienne Outlaw. My instrumental work is incredibly democratic; musical roles shift around the ensemble give a freshness to the overall sound. Contemporary classical players enjoy playing my music.

I’m a fan of both really rustic blues and really avant garde composers. To me I think there’s something genuine about the human expression that I see in both of those fields that maybe not everybody else does.

FILM MUSIC

I typically work on projects that need one of two things: unique music for a story that is so innovative conventional music doesn’t fit; or projects where music itself is a character in the project.

CONCERT MUSIC

I create arrangements and compositions for standard ensembles for live performance. I began music as a band kid, toured the country for three years with a drum and bugle corps, and won an award for a beginning band piece. When I write for groups like that, I always work to make sure there’s something in the piece for each person in the group to look forward to. Music as a language is broad, and there is room for everyone to contribute.

I have a tendency to push the boundaries of the roles instruments are used to playing within an ensemble.

This comes from being a low brass member, and low brass players are often only asked to play whole notes in developing band material while others get to play the melody and certain technical things. Inevitably, as years go by, the low brass players are not as skilled as their peers at certain things because they’ve never been asked to do them.

In a band material, it’s very common for trumpets to always have the melody along with first flute, and everyone else works to support that. That’s not the only thing they’re capable of. I work my pieces so that everyone has something to do that they can be celebrated for, that gives them something to work on, and something that they will be proud to have done at the end of the piece – while crafting an experience for everyone that’s meaningful.

I literally think about each individual performer that’s going to play this material, and I want to make sure that there’s something in there for them, and that nobody just has whole notes straight through while everybody else gets to do the fun bits.

AUDIO BRANDING

Your brand has ineffable qualities… a tone of voice, a speaking cadence and a soul. Working with your creative team, I take those ineffable qualities and represent them sonically. Gigs like this have proven to be my favorite – I love the process of teasing out the essence of your organization and then distilling it into musical or sonic gestures.

Previous clients have included Dance Network (three times), web series’ and tv pilots.

CONSULTING

MUSIC SUPERVISION

I clear songs and produce re-recordings for films. I’ve also placed master recordings. A key focus for me is the “Great American Songbook” – I get a lot of requests to help find and clear songs from the jazz era. I love being a musical detective. Key successes include master use of a Louis Armstrong and publishing clearance for Neon Trees.

MUSIC ADVISING

I partner with storytellers, filmmakers and big-idea people to craft a signature sound for their project that will create a physical response in their audience. Music is a powerful part of our emotional life and is a vital tool in the hands of visual media professionals.

DISCOVERY PROJECTS

I help companies and organizations launch new things by investigating the landscape they are about to enter. I love doing this, because it gives me a chance to learn something new. Previously I’ve worked to find great gear for an artist’s multimedia installation and I’m in the process of setting up a RAE project for a start-ups foray into music education and music therapy.

BIO

My focus as an artist is creating meaningful experiences. I see the world both as it should be and as it is simultaneously. I want to give the people who experience the work I touch a sense of transcendent humanness. Ideas like justice and hope and the fallacy of evil, the fallacy of outright selfishness, the fallacy of cheap melodrama … They are not rooted in the full lived experience of humanity.

The world I live in is imaginative, restorative, colorful, and celebrates the small gestures that keep us human.

Kyle

***

British-born, American-trained composer Kyle J Baker writes music for film, chamber ensembles and school groups. Classical in heritage, but vernacular in vocabulary, his music has earned accolades for its rhythmic intensity and lyrical integrity. Influential teachers include Ken Read, John LaBarbara, Delfeayo Marsalis, and Paul Godwin.

Born in Scotland and raised in St. Louis, Baker holds an M.Mus from Belmont University and makes his home in Cane Ridge, Tennessee with his wife Joy, and daughter Charlotte. In addition to composing for visual media, he serves on the music staff of Music City Drum and Bugle Corps.

A recent work, Post-modern Psalms, was premiered by the Nashville Chamber Music Series in May.

As an impresario, he has launched a number of projects and events, including Nashville’s Soundcrawl Festival, Creator’s Workday, and The Listening Lab.