Jazz is a very joyful expression of human emotion," says Andy Baker, the newest addition to Northwestern’s jazz faculty. "As a performer, it has to do with the spontaneity of the situation and the connection you have with the people around you. It’s very alive."

The people Baker has been around aren’t exactly your everyday street-corner trumpeters, either. Born in England and a 1997 graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Baker has performed all over the world with the likes of Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin and the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.

Baker will make his NU debut at Saturday’s "Jazz Night III" at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, when he will play with the jazz ensemble, band and combo as the featured trombonist.

According to Baker, ending up in Chicago — let alone NU — via England was nothing more than a matter of fate.

"It’s a simple story of love," Baker says. "I came through Chicago one time and I met a woman at a gig who is now my wife."

After dating internationally for a bit, the two decided they wanted to get married and, according to Baker, one of them "had to pick a country." Faced with this decision, Baker decided that he would be the one to move, saying that he "needed a new challenge."

The move came in 2001, and afterward Baker established himself in the Chicago jazz scene — playing with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and giving lessons to students.

One of these students was Adam Gross, now a Music and McCormick freshman and one of Baker’s students, according to Don Owens, coordinator of jazz studies and pedagogy at NU.

"I found out that (Adam) had been studying with Andy Baker for two years," says Owens, who was looking for someone to add to the faculty as a trombonist. "I also consulted many people in the music education business and many professionals around town. His name kept coming up."

Owens then called Baker to set up a meeting, and after hearing Baker’s playing and learning of his background, Owens decided that Baker would be the "perfect guy" for the job.

Baker’s addition to the faculty, along with a recent grant from an alumnus to be used specifically for the advancement of NU’s jazz program, is an indication that the program is beginning to thrive and has a "very bright" future, according to Owens.

Because of the gift, the jazz program will be able to record tracks this spring for an album and will do so on an annual basis. The grant will also allow the jazz department to bring more special guests to their shows and, along with recording, the faculty will continue to expand, as Owens hopes to add a bassist and "possibly another expert as well."

For Baker, though, the job gives him the freedom to play the music he loves and the opportunity to "settle down" as a performer, while still living a bit of the jazz-musician lifestyle he became used to.

"Well, it’s definitely only part-time," Baker says of his new profession as a professor. "I’ve found that teaching is equally as rewarding as playing, but you have to get used to the lifestyle. Here, they like you to show up more than three times a week."

Baker attributes some of his interest in teaching to his own instructor, the internationally acclaimed trombonist Mark Nightingale, who Baker says inspired him to take his playing beyond the mediocre.

"He showed me that there were no limits," Baker recalls. "I saw the things he was able to do and that showed me that I should stop making excuses about what I thought I couldn’t do."

Baker’s epiphany has translated into his own teaching, according to Music and McCormick junior Brad Jepson, one of Baker’s students.

"He’s a really laid-back guy," Jepson says. "He’s interested in teaching music and helping people achieve. He’s very straightforward, and he tells you what you’re doing wrong without making it seem like he’s above you."

To Baker, this is what jazz is all about — the music. It’s not about who can play "Monk’s Mood" the best, but that you notice what you’re hearing — this art form that’s begotten modern music as we know it — is alive. It’s evident in the fact that jazz, something Baker calls "the unique American art form," has moved beyond the states and even now beyond Baker’s native England.

"That’s the beauty of the music," Baker says.

Medill freshman Steve Aquino is the PLAY assistant design editor. He can be reached at [email protected].