Garth Baecker is an accomplished sales leader with extensive experience in the insurance and mutual fund industries. He is also an avid fan of jazz music. Throughout his life, Garth Baecker has held several leadership roles with the United Church of Christ. He has had the pleasure of uniting his two passions, jazz and the church, in the form of The Baecker Jazz Worship Service. The project represents a collaboration between Baecker, a graduate of Western Illinois University with a master’s degree in English, and John Cooper, a former director of jazz studies and professor of music at the university.
The initial performances and eventual recording of The Baecker Jazz Worship Service stemmed from Garth Baecker’s original concept and an arrangement led by John Cooper and his musicians, later dubbed the John Cooper Jazz Orchestra. While discussing the seven-movement piece, which provides musical accompaniment to each section of a traditional worship service, Baecker and Cooper sought to explore as many subgenres of jazz as possible.
Together, Garth Baecker and John Cooper began with the Offertory, a critical section of every worship service. The Offertory provides the congregation with an opportunity to express their gratitude to God, in addition to providing the church with financial support. For the Offertory, the pair settled on a New Orleans strut, a quintessential showcase of jazz’s groovy asymmetry and an ode to New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz. Cooper opted to highlight the rhythm section during the Offertory, which originally consisted of David Taylor on the drums and bassist Jeff Halsey.
During the composition process, the Offertory was followed by a rendition of St. Anthony’s Light, set to the melody of “This Little Light of Mine,” which Garth Baecker had cited as an overarching theme for the live performance and subsequent recording. Performed in 5/4 time, Cooper reorganized the melody into a hard bop. Hard bop is an extension of the bebop subgenre of jazz known for its fusion of R&B and gospel music, making it a perfect fit for The Baecker Jazz Worship Service. The section was highlighted by a trumpet solo, originally played by David Hoffman.
Next, Baecker and Cooper collaborated on the musical accompaniment for the Gospel: John 21. Throughout the passage, worshippers come to realize that while all men and women are sinners, Jesus continues to show mercy and offer countless second chances for redemption. With this hopeful message in mind, the John Cooper Jazz Orchestra performed a carefree, seaside-inspired jazz piece consisting of a piano solo, performed by Matt Michaels, perfectly matched to Reverend DaNita Bell’s energetic delivery.
Garth Baecker and John Cooper continued to work on the piece by composing the Doxology. This was a particularly important section to compose, as the Doxology is a hymn that expresses praise for God using a short, basic melody. The Baecker Jazz Worship Service team completely reinvented the melody and performed the hymn in chorale style.
Cooper took a personalized approach to the Communion section of the service, during which church parishioners partake in a sacred sacrament by consuming consecrated bread and wine in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice. This part of the worship service is also known as the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist. For this segment of The Baecker Jazz Worship Service, Cooper repurposed his piece “And Now You’re Gone,” which he had originally written in honor of his close friend and fellow musician Royden “Church” Magee III, who died tragically while touring with the Rolling Stones as the band’s tour manager.
Garth Baecker and John Cooper left the service opening and closing as the final pieces to write, though the pair knew some rendition of “This Little Light of Mine” would end the service. The reimagined standard featured an ascending bass line leading into a shuffle, a jazz groove that emphasizes the first and third beats.
The Baecker Jazz Worship Service ultimately began with a prelude titled “In the Beginning.” The opening was envisioned as a jazz treatment of the beginning of the world, as described in the Book of Genesis.