Composer and percussionist Michael Baird was born in Lusaka, Zambia, in 1954. He moved to England in1964 and to Holland in 1967. Michael started playing drums in 1968 and is self-taught, except for a few private lessons with jazz-drummer Art Taylor and workshops led by Afro-Caribbean percussionist Raul Burnet.
He's worked saxophonist Gijs Hendriks from 1975 to 1981, recording and co-producing six albums, with, amongst others Slide Hampton, Siggi Kessler, Joe Diorio, Stan Tracey, Kenny Wheeler.
Michael created the group Sharp Wood in 1985, which he led for ten years, playing in Holland, Belgium, Germany, France. Sharp Wood recorded and produced three albums.
Baird has received a scholarship from the Dutch Ministry of Culture to study the music of Zambia and Zimbabwe and done research at the International Library of African Music (ILAM), Grahamstown, South Africa. He conducted field recordings in Zambia for VPRO Radio and recorded and produced the album On Remote Patrol, featuring international musicians.
— Courtesy Calabash Music
