bio
The only Chapman Stick performer in Saskatchewan, Brian Baggett showcases masterful original compositions and colorfully arranged standards from various genres.
The Chapman Stick, first marketed 1974, is the world’s most well-known two-handed “touchboard” guitar. It was invented by the late Emmett Chapman (1936-2021) to embody this two-handed technique he discovered in 1969: both hands on the fretboard with the instrument in an upright position. No strumming or plucking of strings involved.
Brian has a thirty plus year background in classical, jazz, rock, experimental and improvisatory music. As a solo act with the 10-string Chapman Stick, he brings fluid relevancy between all music genres in a live setting: art openings, weddings, pub entertainment, stage shows, as well as music for film and TV. Brian Baggett lives in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Brian Baggett was nominated for Saskatchewan Music Award’s “Instrumentalist of the Year” (2022). And his 2021 EP Let Nothing You Dismay ranked #7 in the top ten Best Saskatchewan Albums for 2022. In 2018, Brian’s third full length recording Bookmarks (Oct 2018) features reinterpretations of compositions by Paul Simon, Pat Metheny, John Coltrane, The WHO, and others. Bookmarks has landed twice on Canada’s National Top Ten Jazz Charts at #7 (November 20 & December 4), Canada’s Top 50 chart at #41 (November 27), and Canada’s Top 20 Monthly Jazz Chart at #9 (November 2018). Baggett’s first Canadian release First Contact (2016) landed on Canada’s Top 20 Monthly Jazz charts for September and October 2016 (Earshot Magazine).
Originally a French horn player and holding a music degree (Bachelor of Arts with Education emphasis, French Horn – Abilene Christian University 1994), Brian began his Stick playing journey in 1996. “I love this instrument!”, says Brian. “Unlike the horn with its single note expression, the Stick is like a mini-orchestra at your fingertips…complete with the expressive nuances only offered with amplified fretted stringed instruments. I still feel like a kid at Christmas every day I walk into my studio and see it sitting there.”
Brian Baggett was born and raised in Houston, Texas (USA) and a 21-year resident of the West Texas city of Abilene. But Saskatchewan is no stranger to him. In Texas, Brian met a girl from Saskatoon and they married in 1998. After twelve years in Abilene, they immigrated to her homeland, settling in Fort Qu’Appelle and the beautiful Qu’Appelle Valley. “I absolutely love it here!”, exclaims Brian. “There’s such vast diversity of people and nature all crammed into this quaint 2000-member community. It’s musically inspiring, for sure! I spend my summers biking around town and kayaking the local waterways. And the small but mighty arts community revolving around the Qu’Appelle Valley Centre for the Arts (QVCA) and the yearly Fort Qu’Appelle Mid Summer’s Art Festival are extremely supportive of my music. Who wouldn’t love that?”