Jim Baker, born in 1950 in Chicago, is an American jazz and improvisation musician, pianist, synthesizer player, and keyboardist. After studying piano with Thomas Scott and composition at the University of Illinois at Urbana under Morgan Powell and Herbert Brun, Baker entered the Chicago improvisation scene in the 1980s, performing with Harold Jones, Nicholas Tremulis, Kent Kessler, and Michael Zerang. His first recordings appeared in 1995 with the trio Caffeine for Okka Disk, followed by the album The Earth Sessions, Volume I/II (1997). He collaborated with Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark, and Fred Lonberg‑Holm, appearing at Moers Festival in 1996, and Tampere Jazz Happening. He released More Questions Than Answers on Delmark Records and regularly performed with his band Steam at Fred Anderson’s Velvet Lounge.
