About the band
The Hot Baked Goods was founded in October 2012 on a concrete staircase on the west side of Dolores Park by a small group of swing dancer friends. They worked up their chops playing for passing MUNI trains and rehearsing in the living room of Bay Area traditional jazz guru Clint Baker. Over time, the band moved their practice to a more central location in the park where friends came to dance, eat, and enjoy San Francisco culture. They played near the playground almost every Saturday for a year and a half. Children clapped, wiggled, and giggled, neighborhood parents asked them to play for their kid’s birthday parties; it was a joyous time.
The ‘Goods look forward to learning and growing as musicians, and friends, with each passing year. They’re endlessly grateful to their long-standing regular fans and new ones alike, and hope to see you at a dance or party soon!
Available for hire as a 4 to 7 piece band, The Hot Baked Goods play for a variety of events including weddings, corporate parties, dance events, and more. They travel nationally and internationally, spreading their love of jazz everywhere they go. Excitement, passion, and respect for the music continue to ignite them, like in their early days, so you can be sure they will bring hot energy to the stage whenever they perform. Be sure to check their Facebook page for their appearances at local Bay Area swing dances and beyond!
Members
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Ryan Calloway has been in the arts his entire life. He is guided by a passion to create jazz music and dance and share it with the world around him. As a musician, Ryan is a co-creator of The Hot Baked Goods and the founder of the Silver Bell Jazz Band. As an internationally renowned dancer, Ryan has travelled the world teaching Lindy Hop and African-American vernacular jazz dances as well as leading bands and teaching music. Ryan also creates portraits of many of his musical inspirations—they can be found on his Etsy store.
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Bay Area vocalist and instrumentalist Jessica King discovered her passion for jazz through an introduction to Lindy Hop swing dancing in 2010 in Philadelphia. Dance has taken her to places she never dreamed, but always hoped, including the stage. Co-creator of The Hot Baked Goods, she sings and plays rhythm—washboard, guitar, and banjo—with multiple bands in the Bay and beyond. Since she was a girl, blues, jazz, and R&B have been ever-present in her musical tastes. Growing up, she found vocal inspiration listening to Nat Cole, Patsy Cline, Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, and Robert Plant, and in more recent years, Una Mae Carlisle, Peggy Lee, Bessie Smith, Anita O'Day, and local great Barbara Dane. Experienced as a lead vocalist, Jessica also loves to collaborate on harmonies with other singers and as a backup vocalist. When she’s not on stage, you can find her developing recipes in her kitchen, teaching Lindy Hop, working as a postpartum doula, and on the social dance floor.
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Nirav Sanghani has been playing music since childhood. He started on piano and viola in grade school but eventually settled on guitar. After learning to Lindy Hop, he made the transition over to playing early jazz & swing guitar for swing dancers, which has been his passion ever since. He is a founding member of The Hot Baked Goods and leads his own ensembles, Nirav Sanghani and the Pacific Six and The Curiosities Jazz Band. Nirav transcribes and arranges swing music for these groups, along with composing original music in the early jazz style. He spends the rest of his time cooking, fiddling around on the internet, and playing tabletop & video games.
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Alexander Fernandez dove head first into jazz when he first discovered swing dancing in the late ’90s. Today as a dancer, founding bassist of The Hot Baked Goods, Lindy Hop DJ and mentor to aspiring DJs, event organizer, sound and recording engineer, and all around dance and music enthusiast, he continually expands his skills to serve the betterment of his local dance and jazz community. He spends his time in the San Francisco Bay Area curating his music collection, working on recording engineering projects, and refining his musical craft with the good people he meets. In the evenings he can be found dancing, DJing, performing or doing sound at all the major swing venues and events in the Bay Area, and often at national dance events. He is never far from the social dance floor and cherishes every moment he can to dance the happiest dance.
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Clint Baker has been a bandleader since 1984, and produced his first record album in 1991. Since then, he has produced seven recordings including "In The Groove", "Going Huge", and "Tears”. He is one of the few musicians to lead a traditional jazz band at the world-renowned Monterey Jazz Festival, joining the ranks of Louis Armstrong, Turk Murphy, and Jack Teagarden. Clint Baker’s New Orleans Jazz Band also appeared at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1992 and has toured festivals in the U.S. and Canada.
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Riley Baker was raised in a musical household with his mother in jazz radio and father a musician. He picked up the drums when he was about 6 years old and by 12 was playing professionally with his father’s jazz band and the early Hot Baked Goods band. In middle school, he started playing the tuba and other instruments on which he became very proficient. While in high school, Riley played drums with The Hot Baked Goods, Clint Baker’s Golden Gate Swing Band, and performed on tuba with the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra. Riley also appears occasionally with Rob Reich’s “Swings Left”, the Circus Bella All-Star Band, Adam Theis’s Jazz Mafia, and other groups around the Bay Area and in Los Angeles. Riley is currently attending the California State University Northridge School of Music in Northern Los Angeles.
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Andrew “Carnegie” Hall has enjoyed playing with The Hot Baked Goods since 2015 and is a lifelong learner of music. Carnegie is committed to educating his students in music and social emotional learning while keeping an open mind and learning along with them. His principal instrument is the piano but Carnegie also enjoys playing the guitar, tenor guitar and banjo, upright bass, pipe organ, and singing. While he finds much fulfillment in music, Carnegie is also an avid and active sailor on the San Francisco Bay. If he's not at a gig, teaching, or sailing, you will probably find Carnegie enjoying some peace in the beautiful natural areas of the Bay Area or enjoying a home cooked meal with a nice glass of wine.